This week, thanks to some crackerjack reporting by Glenn Greenwald and The Washington Post, the learned a great deal about the scope of the NSA's domestic surveillance activities.
To my mind, it all seems like something straight out of .
I mean, no doubt, the disclosure of über-secret information about America's most star-studded intelligence gathering tool (not counting Steven Seagal) is a boon for and their allies who want to harm us—but that's not my biggest concern.
As a , I'm much more worried about the very real possibility that will use my call and/or search history as a pretext to .
I suppose that I can just move to , where at least the government is transparent about its intrusions into citizens' private lives.
Morning lineup:
Meet the Press: Preempted for coverage of the French Open.
Face the Nation: Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA); Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX); Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD); Rep. John Dingell (D-MI); Roundtable: David Sanger (New York Times), Rajiv Chandrasekaran (Washington Post), Harvard University Prof. Joseph Nye and Margaret Brennan (CBS News).
This Week: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI); Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO); Glenn Greenwald (The Guardian); Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), GOP Strategist Matthew Dowd, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Paul Krugman (New York Times) and Greta Van Susteren (Fox News).
Fox News Sunday: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY); Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI); Former CIA/NSA Director Gen. Michael Hayden; Roundtable: Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard), Mara Liasson (NPR), GOP Strategist Mary Matalin and Peter Baker (New York Times).
State of the Union: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO); Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD); Amy Walter (Cook Political Report); Former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL); Former Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA); Reliable Sources: Glenn Greenwald (The Guardian); Ramesh Ponnuru (National Review); Ana Marie Cox (The Guardian); Charlie Savage (New York Times); Joe Concha (Mediaite); Media Critic Ken Tucker.
The Chris Matthews Show: Preempted for coverage of the French Open.
Evening lineup:
60 Minutes will feature: an investigation into allegations from doctors that the hospital chain they worked for pressured them to admit patients regardless of their medical needs (preview); an interview with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (preview); and, a report on the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, where builders are using modern technology to realize genius architect Antoni Gaudí's vision (preview).
On Comedy Central...
Jon Stewart discussed John McCain's Syrian photo bomb.
The Daily Show
Note: Correspondent John Oliver will be guest-hosting while Jon Stewart is off making his directorial debut.
Monday: Actor Seth Rogen
Tuesday: Screenwriter/Director/Producer Armando Iannucci
Wednesday: Singer/Activist Mavis Staples
Thursday: Fareed Zakaria (CNN)
And Stephen Colbert interviewed Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who is now the longest serving member of Congress in American history.
The Colbert Report
Monday: Author/Columnist Dan Savage
Tuesday: Author Daniel Bergner
Wednesday: Singer/Songwriter Paul McCartney
Thursday: Author Kjerstin Gruys
Elsewhere...
According to Mitt Romney, a "leading Democrat" told him that he would've won the election, if it hadn't been for that meddling Hurricane Sandy.
"Obviously a hurricane with a week to go before the election stalled our campaign," Romney told CNN's Gloria Borger. [...]
"I wish the hurricane hadn't happened when it did because it gave the President a chance to be presidential and to be out showing sympathy for folks. That's one of the advantages of incumbency," Romney said. "But you know, you don't look back and worry about each little thing and how could that have been different. You look forward."
Meanwhile...
Outgoing Rep. Michele Bachmann hinted at a possible return to office.
"I'm not retiring, I'm not going silent, I'm not quitting my public involvement," she said late Thursday night on Fox News' "Hannity." "In fact I may run for another public office. That could happen. But for right now I'm going to find a different perch in order to be able to weigh in on these matters."
While she said she didn't have a specific plan as of now, she is "wide open and looking."
And, speaking of crazy people...
Bachmann's former colleague, Alan West, knows who's to blame for the military's epidemic of sexual assault.
SAVAGE: When I watch these Khmer Rouge feminists try to take over the military, this looked liked an attempted coup to me, Colonel West.
WEST: Nah, you're absolutely right and that's a big concern that I have because when you start to get—you know, I understand civilian oversight of the military. We all understand that as all officers who served in uniform. But when you start to have this interjection of, you know, political, you know, will against, you know, the military, good order and discipline, where you start to try to usurp the commanders' authority and I guess replace it with some type of political, legal officers, and things of that nature. Then the next thing you know, it goes from just dealing with this, you know, sexual assault thing to, you know, making decisions on the battlefield. But —
SAVAGE: Thank you. Exactly. And that's exactly what they're doing here.
WEST: There is an assault against the United States military.
END OF TRANSMISSION.
- Trix