Controversy has engulfed the National Security Agency after it was revealed the office - and others like it - were collecting citizens' phone and e-mail records. The public revelations have split Congress, with some lawmakers defending the program as an effective way to fight terrorism, and others viewing it as the first step to the totalitarian "Big Brother" depicted in George Orwell's classic, 1984.
Fearless Fosdick, the ace gumshoe in the old Li'l Abner comic strip who was assigned to prevent an unwitting shopper from buying the can of poisoned beans crafty evildoers had slipped into the food supply, is obviously the inspiration of the men who set out to collect the telephone records of every American.
It’s not a big secret that most American conservatives don’t support President Obama. Yet it’s interesting to learn some liberals are now beginning to turn on him, too.
It's not a big secret that most American conservatives don't support President Obama. Yet it's interesting to learn some liberals are now beginning to turn on him, too.
A key Democratic senator said Wednesday the collection of phone records and other mass data is "well understood," but there is room to discuss the broader implications of the spying programs.
The revelation that the super-secret National Security Agency (NSA) has been vacuuming up so-called "metadata" from foreign and American communications has lots of us in a full-scale flail.
In 2012, Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat, said that Americans would be "stunned" by the government's interpretation of its surveillance authority.
The Obama administration on Thursday defended its secret seizure of the phone records of millions of U.S. citizens as part of counterterrorism efforts, while privacy advocates blasted the move as illegal and a debate erupted in Congress over the intended scope of a key surveillance law.
A senior White House official defended the National Security Agency's top secret collection of telephone records from one of the nation's largest telecommunications companies and insisted the government was not allowed to eavesdrop on calls.
Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee said Tuesday the IRS, while engaging in "unacceptable" targeting of conservative groups, may have been set up for failure by campaign finance law ambiguities that allowed tax-exempt groups to engage in partisan politics without disclosing their donors.
Federal lawmakers from both parties say they're eager to scale down the nation's helium reserve without disrupting the supply chain, a seemingly arcane effort that is so urgent it may "rise above" the partisan rancor on Capitol Hill.
While President Obama keeps pounding away to get votes to pass gun restrictions in the Senate, pro-Second Amendment supporters are pushing the upper chamber in the opposite direction. Sen. Tom Coburn introduced two amendments to strengthen the rights of gun owners and keep the federal government in check.
Washington, D.C., is a coin-operated world where lobbyists insert their nickels and politicians sing their song. Nobody is more in tune with the game than the music industry.
Five hours into Sen. Rand Paul's old-fashioned, hold-the-floor filibuster Wednesday, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid came to the floor to try to end the affair, asking whether Mr. Paul would settle for going only 30 more minutes before the chamber voted on confirmation of a CIA director.
President Obama's decision Tuesday to show lawmakers secret legal documents justifying the use of drones to kill suspected terror leaders won new support for his top counterterrorism adviser to be become the next CIA director.
"Now public hearings are needed to address the recent disclosures, and the American people have the right to expect straight answers from the intelligence leadership to the questions asked by their representatives," Wyden said in a statement following the public revelation of the spying program.
Intel chief wrongly claims government wasn't collecting data on millions →
Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat, said that Americans would be "stunned" by the government's interpretation of its surveillance authority.
