TheNextReport

David Letterman's decison to hang up his comedy shoes by retiring from The Late Show was a moving moment in the history of American television. Indeed, it reminds us how the tv talkshow format had become a piece of genuine Americana. The show's concept built around a wise-cracking comic performer/interviewer has its roots in the medium itself. As wild and original that Letterman was, one has to remember his lineage: Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Dave Garroway and the legendary Ernie Kovacs. Mr. Letterman's heart was broken when he was not awarded the coveted desk at the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson retired. It was not a question of money, nothing so mundane. It was a question of taking what he saw as his righttful place in the pantheon; it was a question of where he wanted to walk --In the footsteps of giants.

A federal appeals court has ruled that the government's program to keep track of the phone calls of millions of American citizens is illegal. The judgement targets the of mass collection of phone records that exiled NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to the public two years ago. Now Congress will have to decide whether it wants to replace the practice or end it entirely.The 2nd court of appeals made their case clear. Writing for a panel of three judges, Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch stated that Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which addresses the FBI's ability to gather business records, could not be interpreted to have permitted the NSA to collect a "staggering" amount of phone records, contrary to claims by the Bush and Obama administrations. "Such expansive development of government repositories of formerly private records would be an unprecedented contraction of the privacy expectations of all Americans," Lynch wrote in a 97-page decision. "We ...

Union busting Wisconsin governor Scott Walker paid a visit to London last week, meeting with the British Finance Minister and other key officials in an attempt to burnish the governor's foreign policy credentials in anticipation of a 2016 run for the White House. The governor demonstrated that he was not only a stranger to U.S. foreign policy, but a novice to science as well. When he was asked if he thinks the theory of evolution is a proven fact, he declined to state his opinion. The Finance Minister was clearly playing the ridicule card, knowing full well that Mr. Walker is emerging as a national leader of an American political party that has officially labled the phenomenon of climate change a "hoax." Keeping the Wisconsin electorate uninformed has been a hallmark of the governor's policy to cripple education and destroy teachers' unions in his state. During his visit to the UK, Governor Walker took time to endorse Wisconsin cheese, proclaiming it among the b...

The GOP is in the starting blocks, heralding the arrival of its Congressional majority by proclaiming President Obama's budget/legislative proposals as "dead on arrival." They say that the president's program is simply incapable of making it through the Republican dominated legislature. The implication of their message to the American people seems clear: why bother discussing any legislation at all? The argument is similar to the injury suffered by our democracy every time polls are taken and results presented to the country in advance of an election. Why bother debating competitive ideas when the decision is already made? The dream of representative democracy is lost, dead on arrival, as Jefferson and Madison turn over in their graves.

Identity is the problem. Does the fight witnessed by the world commiunity this weekend with the murders in Paris represent a true clash of civilizations, or is this a muderous game played out on social media for the benefit of hidden financiers? It would appear that what we are seeing is a battle between one group that is civilized and another that is far from it. As the west attempts to drag radical Islam kicking and screaming into the 21st century, the world trembles. As we rightly condemn the barbarism of the extremists whose monsterous acts are poised to turn the world's democracies into a large police state, one is tempted to ask--what did you expect? Islam -- radical or otherwise -- is firmly rooted in its medieval traditions and beliefs. If the homicidal psychopaths who carried out the atrocities in France are truly acting with the blessings of faith, they simply have no context to accomodate the tenets of liberal democracy and other western ideals. To expect them to do ot...

The GOP win is a victory for an electoral strategy that deliberately obstructs the legislative process over a long period of time so it can later claim that Washington doesn't work; the opposing party is held responsible for gridlock when the next electoral cycle comes around. This is a fundamental defect in how democracy functions and should be eliminated through constitutional amendment. It is the constitutional responsibility of the legislature to propose and act on legislation. Government through obstruction is clearly not what the framers intended. Why do I get the feeling that what's at work is not how best the country can benefit by what the government does in its behalf, but who gets the credit.

Election Day in America has cable news shows discussing the possible agenda of the GOP when they take over the Senate. Even MSNBC, the station with a slant toward the left, is talking about the certitude of a Republican win and likely destruction of the national program of the Democrats. One has to wonder why anyone would bother going to vote when media reports on polls have already reported the results before anyone has the chance to cast a ballot. All across he country the electorate will dutifully check boxes, pull levers, punch papers, and press buttons in the firm belief it is enacting its sacred franchise, when democracy by polls has already decided the important questions before us.