PushBack Politics
White House defends gathering cell phone records
The White House is defending the practice of gathering cell phone records from American citizens while neither confirming nor denying a report that the NSA is collecting records from millions of Verizon customers. The practice was first revealed by the British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday, which obtained and published a highly classified court order that requires the production of “telephony metadata” by the telecommunications giant. The order, marked “Top Secret” and issued by the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court instructs Verizon to hand over data including all calling records on an “ongoing, daily basis” – NBC News
Samantha Power, White House’s UN Ambassador Nominee
A self-described “genocide chick” could be this nation’s next U.N. ambassador. Samantha Power — an unrelenting human rights advocate who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, sometimes to a fault —was nominated for the position Wednesday afternoon by President Obama. If approved by the Senate, Power would replace Susan Rice, who after a controversial tenure at the U.N., has been chosen to replace Tom Donilon as national security adviser. As an intrepid young journalist, Power witnessed horrors in Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia, winning a Pulitzer Prize for a book on genocide. Later, she worked on Obama’s presidential campaign, but abruptly resigned after calling Hillary Clinton a “monster.” She bounced back to run the White House’s human rights office. One thing Power has not done is hold a diplomatic post — and now, the woman who has “seen evil at its worst” has her first shot at one. Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Fortune Samantha Power is seen at a FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Dinner at the U.S Department Of State’s Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Room on April 30, 2012 in Washington, DC. Obama’s pick was lauded by human rights activists. “She’s an excellent choice,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human [...]
Holder To NBC’s Pete Williams: I Have ‘No Intention’ Of Stepping Down As Attorney General
NBC News’ Pete Williams sat down for an exclusive interview with Attorney General Eric Holder today. The appearance marked the first time Holder has engaged in a one-on-one discussion with a member of the press since he has come under fire for investigating journalists at the AP and Fox News. On the balance between the freedom of the press and national security, Holder told Williams, “I’m a little concerned that things have gotten a little out of whack. I think we can do a better job than we have.” Speaking specifically to the case of Fox’s James Rosen, Holder explained that in order to get a warrant to search the reporter’s electronic records, he had to be labeled a “co-conspirator.” But that doesn’t mean Holder is “comfortable” with that terminology and said he plans to change the policy. “I don’t like that,” he said. “It means that me, as a government official who has great respect for the press, is in essence saying that a reporter doing his or her job, and doing that very important job, is somehow branded a criminal.” Williams asked the attorney general when he plans to step aside and he responded, “there are things I [...]
CNN Reveals Video Of Michelle Obama Confronting LGBT Heckler During DNC Fundraiser
Thus far, news consumers have only had access to audio of First Lady Michelle Obama confronting a LGBT activist heckler during a private Democratic National Committee fundraiser on Tuesday. But this afternoon, CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper revealed video which clearly shows, as reports indicated, Obama stepping down from her lectern to directly address the heckler and suggest she’d leave unless the audience gave her their full attention. The protester, Ellen Sturtz of GetEQUAL, began shouting about President Obama’s unfulfilled commitment to take executive action to prevent federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT individuals. The woman’s interrupted Obama to tell the crowd, ”One of the things I don’t do well is this,” before stepping down from the podium, saying: “You can listen to me or you can take the mic, but I’m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice.” The crowd started to shout in favor of Obama staying, with some saying “You need to go!” to the protester, who was eventually escorted out of the event. Watch the video below, via CNN: [source: mediaite]
