Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle is an avowed independent who covers politics and contemporary cultural issues in a way that connects with readers. His loose, idiosyncratic style carries with it an unconventional message that has broad appeal. "I approach my work with a healthy skepticism for the ideological extremists littering our political landscape," explains Anderson.
© The Washington Post Writer's Group - All Rights Reserved.
Lalo Alcaraz by Lalo Alcaraz
Robert Ariail by Robert Ariail
Comments (21) (Please sign in to comment)
motivemagus said, 3 months ago
Scary. And true.
masterskrain said, 3 months ago
Gotta love that “Patriot Act”!
Courtesy of the shrub ,A.K.A. Cheney’s Mini-me, and John Ashcroft!
Stipple said, 3 months ago
I blame the American people, myself included, who were afraid to actually fight for right.
The Patriot Act is not a gray area, it is outright criminal in the statutes of our Constitution.
I I did nothing out of fear of losing “stuff” and lost freeedon instead.
.
I don’t rant against the act, I could have acted when it would have counted and I did not.
.
Almost nothing left to lose, highest per capita incarceration rate in the world.
Victimless crimes are political by definition, we are worse than any third world country.
.
You and I sit behind ours walls and let them.
mickey1339
said, 3 months ago
@masterskrain
“Courtesy of the shrub ,A.K.A. Cheney’s Mini-me, and John Ashcroft!”
Continued and expanded by your favorite president Barack Obama. It kinda goes along with his policy to close Gitmo, end the Bush tax cuts, end the Afghan war, fix the tax code. My favorite though is change the partisan atmosphere in Washington and maintain the most transparent administration in American history. That’s our pres, George Bush lite…
mickey1339
said, 3 months ago
@Stipple
“I don’t rant against the act, I could have acted when it would have counted and I did not.”
Don’t be too rough on yourself. A whole lot of people I know screamed like hell at the Patriot Act, the Iraq war, the drone program etc. Somehow they ignored us and did what they were going to anyway.
1opinion said, 3 months ago
My phones have been taped for years. I think it is only state not feds doing it.
ansonia
said, 3 months ago
@masterskrain
Yeah, and Obama really ramped it up. He could have stopped it. Where’s your outrage at him? Why did you give him a pass.
ansonia
said, 3 months ago
Am I correct that the conversations are not actually “monitored” by a person sitting there listening in, but more like electronic equipment that is programmed to “listen” for specific words/phrases that terrorists use to plot attacks against innocent people all over the world?
Radish
said, 3 months ago
Obama has continued and added to Bush’s destruction of our freedoms. Both parties do what the security state tells them to do, people we never vote for.
dtroutma
said, 3 months ago
Reagan’s folks, and earlier (think DICK CHENEY) started burning our rights at the stake some time ago. 9/11 and the “Patriot (not!) Act” were passed off by RIGHT wing forces, threatening charges of treason against anyone denying them their attack on the Constitution. Yes, Gitmo never should have been built, and should have been closed, as well as other obfuscations of the law stopped, but it is those same “conservative” forces in BOTH parties, that have offended our rights.
But, if you think it’s the government, or Obama, that take advantage, read that “agreement” you “agree” to in order to load almost any software from any corporation in the U.S. that uses the “pubic” airwaves. “Privacy” has been taken over by piracy, and it is the “corporate nation” within our borders, driving that.
Clark Kent said, 3 months ago
My girlfriend’s phone is tapped by her husband.
kato1979 said, 3 months ago
As bad as the Patriot Act is, the NDAA is far worse. It strips from American citizens the most important of our Constitutionally guaranteed liberties: due process, speedy trial, habeas corpus, unwarranted search and seizure to name a few. While the gun nuts rail against any and all reasonable restrictions on their semi-automatic security blankets, all their important rights have been stolen. The fools fail to realize that the government isn’t going to come for their guns – they’re going to come for THEM! And when they do the gun kooks will simply disappear – never to be seen or heard from again. No phone call to a lawyer or family, no arraignment, no Miranda Rights, no charges – nothing.
Ms. Ima said, 3 months ago
@Clark Kent
Is he a vegan also?
Ms. Ima said, 3 months ago
Don’t do anything illegal and you have nothing to worry about.
TheTrustedMechanic said, 3 months ago
@mickey1339
”Continued and expanded by your favorite president Barack Obama.”
Indefensible in my opinion. Shame on President Obama.
”It kinda goes along with his policy to close Gitmo”
Blocked by republicans.
”…end the Bush tax cuts…”
Blocked by republicans.
”…end the Afghan war…”
In process
”… fix the tax code”
Again, Blocked by republicans. He asked, they have refused.
“…change the partisan atmosphere in Washington and maintain the most transparent administration in American history.”
Things for the President were not as they were made out to be during his campaign, they were much worse but covered up or not yet fully realized. But I don’t feel he made any effort to keep those specific pledges, again shame on President Obama. As others have stated before, many of us “liberals” are very displeased with President Obama, but sadly he was better than the alternative so we took the best of the two bad choices. I can guarantee you this, I will not be voting for him again.
That last part was supposed to be a joke, get over it.