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Even George W. Bush, who as president pushed the boundaries of executive power, never proposed a statutory scheme to hold people indefinitely.
Here is one iron law of the Internet: a social network's emphasis on monetizing its product is directly proportional to its users' loss of privacy.
I don't look at ratings when they come out in the afternoon before the show because I'm focused on that day's show, but I do see the overall numbers.
I remember buying The Fugees' 'The Score' my freshman year and feeling like this whole new world and this whole new conversation was opening up to me.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likes to reminisce about being an amateur boxer. But his Senate tenure has often looked like an endless rope-a-dope.
I think politics is always about dialogue. I think journalism ranges from dialogue to monologue, and there are times when different poles are necessary.
Of course, no one doubts McCain's personal tenacity, from braving torture to overcoming cancer. Yet plenty of nonpartisan observers doubt his credibility.
The first rule of hip-hop is probably keep it real. And that can mean a lot of different things, but that's certainly important in reporting and storytelling.
I would love to get Chief Justice John Roberts for an interview. I think that would be fascinating, I think that Supreme Court nominees should do more interviews.
There's a lot of hip-hop that's oriented toward a progressive view of America because it's oriented toward a civil rights progress and a critique of the power structure.
While 'Django Unchained' presents a morally stark universe, where people do and say evil things with no remorse, it also luxuriates in the license that such evil provides.
The Trump administration has struggled with ethics vetting for Cabinet nominees and faced criticism for the president's decision to remain invested in his business empire.
'House of Cards' is full of hypocrites, some ashamed, many proud. There is no silver lining here, no appeal to a just system that is temporarily thwarted by corrupting forces.
Political operatives don't tend to be existentialists. They do know, however, that if a supporter doesn't vote, then his or her opinion does not make a sound - or a difference.
Obama can show that America's promise of equality not only means that anyone can reach the highest office in the land - it also means that everyone is equally subject to the law.
When I get serious criticism - if I get serious criticism - it's about how I'm thinking and engaging in a topic. I can't think of an example of someone saying, 'You're too nice.'
TV can keep you honest because the viewers really do listen. People who have succeeded in this have shown the audience how hard they work and that their reporting is really worthwhile.
Washington is deeply frustrating because so many of the positions that politicians hold are a product of ephemeral self-interest. They reverse themselves, for themselves, all the time.
Good lawyering is usually cerebral and impersonally. You can convince a judge with a mastery of facts, detail, and precedent - not a story from the gut about how you feel a certain way.
Democracy functions better when donors push politicians to win campaigns based on their defining issues instead of using financial pressure for policy changes, favors, or special access.
The 'FISA Amendments Act' would gut the oversight system established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which subjected domestic spying to review by a special intelligence court.
The press is always more comfortable with factual determinations than moral ones, although in day-to-day life, a lot of people care a heck of a lot more about morality than every precise actual fact.
If you believe in democracy, you accept, by definition, the existence and triumph of opposing ideas. The people who believe deeply in the Internet's force as a commons operate on that kind of premise.
Navigating a battle between partisan, progressive organizing and decentralized petition drives is, at bottom, like trying to choose between the Democratic Party and democracy. The ideas are on different planes.
I started freelancing, writing op-eds and book reviews, one at a time. I then got the opportunity to write recurring freelance pieces for 'The Nation' magazine, focusing on how the Internet was changing politics.
Companies like YouTube will continue to be tested on their commitment to the mission that made them such popular and profitable websites - providing an open platform to a wide range of ideas from around the world.
When a government forcibly holds enough people indefinitely without trial, it evokes the kinds of raids, detention, and abuses of power associated with authoritarian states - or darker periods in American history.
The Dream Act and the DISCLOSE Act, to name two, had majorities in both chambers during Obama's first term, but they were filibustered to death. They probably await a similar fate unless the filibuster is reformed.
I think the challenge for anyone in a visible industry, whether it's media, government, or political organizing, is to take serious criticism seriously and not to live in the shadows of the noise and the concern trolls.
There's a great deal of enthusiasm about quality, serious journalism. And some of it relates to personalities because it's people who do the news. But I think it reflects a real desire for facts, real news and reporting.
If anything, the genuine human struggles in 'Sicko' raise questions about our society that run much deeper than what passes for political discourse today. Why does such a rich nation let people suffer and die without health care?
From the Fourth Amendment to post-Watergate reforms to the national outcry when Bush's warrantless surveillance was revealed in 2005, the United States has a strong tradition of overseeing the government's power to spy on its citizens.
The Bush administration opened several lines of attack against the rule of law and the integrity of an independent Justice Department. The scandals are so famous that they've been reduced to shorthand: Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, NSA, Attorneygate.
Obama won the presidency by running the first integrated three-screen campaign - reaching people directly via Internet, cell phones, and TV - with an authentic, complex style that resonated for voters sick of dark, deceitful, and divisive politics.
Barack Obama was first elected after a period of profound failure by elite and government institutions, from finance to foreign policy to Hurricane Katrina, and his first term immediately and unapologetically enacted a flurry of government solutions.
Iowa is especially critical for underdog and cash-strapped campaigns, because the caucus system relies on grassroots organizing, enabling candidates with time for retail politicking to beat better-funded rivals. So underdogs usually seize on the state.
In American politics, there's a recurring fantasy, nurtured by the press, about 'courageous' politicians who do the right thing against their political interest. But really, isn't it even more encouraging when the right thing has just become good politics?
The modern GOP has perfected this cyclical deficit outrage ritual. Republicans run up the tab when they control the White House, then scream about deficits when Democrats win - insisting that 'serious reform' means cutting only Democratic budget priorities.
Historically, the most favorably viewed figure in any administration is the first lady, regardless of her husband's popularity. That is largely because first ladies avoid the political fray and are ritualistically presented as a warm, human presence in the White House.
Obama's openness is a welcome change from his predecessor, who went all the way to the Supreme Court to hide the RSVP list for a single policy meeting. And transparency is intrinsically good, since in a democracy, very little government activity is legitimately secret.
One of the great things about 'The Cycle' is that we have a wide set of topics - news, culture, music, and sports - and every week, we have several authors of new books on, which often injects literature, history, technology, business, and science into our show as well.
Iowa has long been heralded as a bulwark against the money and media that dominate the modern presidential race. Its caucus requires voters in every precinct to actually gather in a room, at one time, and listen to neighbors pitch their chosen candidates, before they are allowed to vote.
TV is still a 'push' medium - we are broadcasting into any home or business with basic cable, and depending on what's happening in the world, we have a wider audience, from news junkies to very sporadic viewers. On TV, you want your reporting to be valuable to that entire audience and be relevant.
As every newspaper reader, liberal activist, or parliamentary junkie knows, the overarching barrier to most of Obama's agenda is the abuse of the filibuster in the Senate. In fact, several of Obama's second term priorities are not ideas in search of a majority - they are majorities in search of an up-or-down vote.
Only a few bloggers have the audience and credibility to effectively break stories, pressure the traditional media, incubate new ideas, or raise real money. These influential bloggers are usually sharp, opinionated, and focused on the world 'offline.' They refuse to view events through the solipsistic blinders of their own websites.
I got some experience appearing as a guest on several news channels, and I thought over the years I would be able to mix practicing law and writing with providing analysis on TV. I didn't know that would lead to a full-time opportunity that would take me away from my law practice. When MSNBC made me an offer to join, I jumped at it.