Russians have been considerably less enthusiastic about democracy in recent years than they were in the early 1990s. Today, unlike then, when public cries for freedom were leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union, a majority believes that their country would be better served by a strong leader rather than a democratic government. And the latest Pew Global Attitudes poll finds the Russian people would choose a strong economy over a good democracy by a margin of almost six to one.-Raiders News Service

Claim of political indoctrination is consistent with remarks by U.S. ambassador.-Washington Times

Today, post-Patriot Act, the FBI need only claim, in a conclusory way, that the records sought are "relevant" to a terrorism or intelligence investigation to be able to issue an NSL.No wonder that many fear that the government will exploit this low standard to engage in fishing expeditions -Anita Ramasastry/FindLaw

...these declarations echo the refrain Bush has been asserting from the outset of his presidency. That refrain is simple: Presidential power must be unilateral, and unchecked.But the most recent and blatant presidential intrusions on the law and Constitution supply the verse to that refrain. They not only claim unilateral executive power, but also supply the train of the President's thinking, the texture of his motivations, and the root of his intentions -Jennifer Van Bergen/FindLaw

The real choice that needs to be faced is between:An acceptance of the complex post-Hussein Iraqi realities through a relatively prompt military disengagement -- which would include a period of transitional and initially even intensified political strife as the dust settled and as authentic Iraqi majorities fashioned their own political arrangements.(or)An inconclusive but prolonged military occupation lasting for years while an elusive goal is pursued(first we had Scowcroft, now it's Mr. Trilateral Commission himself) -Zbigniew Brzezinski/Washington Post

In October 2005, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would vastly expand the ability of the Justice Department to spy on American businesses via wiretaps. Not a single senator rose to speak against this bill. Even the most rabid Democratic critic of the White House's warrantless wiretapping, Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold, embraced an unprecedented expansion of unsupervised, albeit warrant-enabled, wiretaps.So what does this bill do? -S. M. Oliva/LewRockwell.com

Author Michael T. Klare seems to not 'get it' on Al Qaeda, but he correctly points out: By employing tactics that only serve to heighten the destructive consequences of a failing strategy, President Bush has essentially guaranteed America's failure. In the final analysis, the President's incompetent management of the war on terror has helped the jihadists take better advantage of their strengths while exploiting America's weaknesses -TomDispatch

With Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) formally removed from congressional leadership, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) took the next step yesterday in Republican efforts to distance the party from a growing corruption scandal, saying the House will move soon to tighten the rules governing lobbyists' access to lawmakers.Hastert tasked House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) to head the GOP's effort to draft new lobbying rules -Washington Post

Contemporary warfare has traditionally involved underlying conflicts regarding economics and resources. Today these intertwined conflicts also involve international currencies, and thus increased complexity. Current geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran extend beyond the publicly stated concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear intentions, and likely include a proposed Iranian “petroeuro” system for oil trade(referenced in Devvy Kidd's article below) -William Clark

On December 15, 2005, Bush called Iran "a real threat" and repeated his 2002 harangue that Iran is part of an "axis of evil". Bush went on to say, "I called it part of the 'axis of evil' for a reason. It's a real threat." Apparently Congress didn't get the message because counterfeit U.S. Sen. Sam Brownbeck, R-Kan., unlawfully got $3 million dollars put in the recent budget to "promote democracy" in Iran! Think Bush didn't know about that unconstitutional $3 million dollars in the budget he signed? -Devvy Kidd/NewsWithViews