The majority of voters did not vote for Donald Trump for president; the majority of voters did not vote for Republican candidates for the Senate; and fewer than 51% of voters cast their ballots for Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The Republican Party now controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, no matter how that came to be. I believe it is worth bearing in mind that a majority of U.S. citizens did not support the Republican winners.   read more

Mention the NSA and visions of mathematicians and computer scientists working in windowless offices spring to mind. But according to documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the NSA also employs agents who work in foreign companies and physically compromise devices and computer networks. The documents show that the NSA has agents working in China, Germany and South Korea to accomplish this mission. Its personnel are also stationed in Hawaii, Texas, Georgia, and in U.S. embassies.   read more

Texas’ latest attempt to restrict minority groups from exercising their right to vote was a law that required certain forms of ID to cast a ballot. That law has now been struck down by a judge who provided a lesson in Texas’ long history of discrimination. Judge Gonzales Ramos ruled that Texas’ voter ID law had the same chilling effect on voting as a poll tax. Literacy tests and gerrymandering have also been employed to depress turnout of black and Hispanic voters, she wrote.   read more

The $100 million is more than a third higher than what was spent on congressional races at this point in 2012. The money is funneled to so-called “social welfare” groups. One of the most prominent spenders has been the Kentucky Opportunity Coalition, which promotes the campaign of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and targeting his Democratic rival, Alison Grimes. Other money is spent by the Koch brothers’-funded Americans for Prosperity and Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS   read more

The Pentagon bought 20 transport planes for use in Afghanistan for $486 million. The planes could not be kept operational, so 16 of them were scrapped at Kabul Airport and the shredded metal was sold for 6 cents a pound. “I am concerned that the officials responsible for planning and executing the scrapping of the planes may not have considered other possible alternatives in order to salvage taxpayer dollars," said SIGAR's John Sopko.   read more

In 2008 and 2012, Adams, at his home overlooking Lake Geneva, hosted lavish fundraisers featuring George Clooney to benefit Obama’s presidential campaigns. Adams’ co-host, Matthew Barzun, is now the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Although Adams is a political, rather than career, appointee, he’s familiar with the Foreign Service. He was born August 25, 1947, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where his father, Charles C. Adamas, was serving as a U.S. diplomat.   read more

“Life as you know it on Earth ends. Seven degrees increase Fahrenheit and we can’t sustain crops, water, life under those circumstances,” Secretary of State John Kerry said after touring a Boston wind center with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. “The solution is staring us in the face. It’s very simple: clean energy. We still have in our hands a window of opportunity to be able to make the difference. But the window is closing quickly. That’s not a threat, that’s a fact.”   read more

Judge Gladys Kessler ordered the government to coordinate the release of videos showing the force-feeding of a Guantánamo inmate. “I want Americans to see what is going on at the prison today, so they will understand why we are hunger-striking,” inmate Syrian Abu Wa’el Dhiab wrote in a petition. Kessler rejected the government’s claim that the video would harm national security. "Most of [their justifications] are unacceptably vague, speculative, ...just plain implausible,” she wrote.   read more

Some companies have inserted a clause into those service contracts you agree to that can cost you money if you give them a negative review. One online retailer, KlearGear, slapped a couple with a $3,500 suit after they’d complained online about poor customer service. The Union Street Guest House will fine event organizers at the inn if any of their guests post negative reviews online. But in California, Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill prohibiting such clauses in the state.   read more

Mills went to Malta in 2010 as deputy chief of mission, and for a time as chargé d’affaires, at the embassy in Valetta. While there, he helped coordinate the evacuation of Americans and other foreign nationals from Libya during the unrest in that country in 2011. He also helped dedicate the new U.S. Embassy in Malta. In 2012, Mills went to Beirut as deputy chief of mission, where he served until his nomination.   read more

Since 2011, Cekuta has been deputy assistant secretary of state in the Energy Resources Bureau. As such, he has acted as a point man for the State Department’s views on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring tar sands oil from Canada into the United States. That experience will come in handy in Azerbaijan, a major oil producer.   read more

New friction has emerged between the U.S. and China. China is starting a new bank and the U.S., the largest shareholder of the World Bank, doesn’t like the competition. China has pledged $50 billion to launch the enterprise, which would be run by Jin Liqun. The Chinese are luring South Korea and Australia to contribute funds, but the U.S. is urging them not to. If the U.S. succeeds, it would damage the prestige of China's bank by having its membership limited to smaller nations.   read more

After the 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the State Department established a directorate to focus on the security of U.S. missions abroad. Now, a report has found that the High Threat Programs division doesn’t have the tools it needs to protect diplomats. Several units of the directorate were found to be understaffed. In addition, the directorate doesn’t have the authority to force other bureaus to do what it says.   read more

When Republicans and Democrats presented a rare united front on an issue, it wasn’t surprising that their goal was to put more money in their pockets. The FEC, in reponse to a joint letter from Democratic and Republican national committees, agreed that the parties may receive convention donations that don’t count against the annual limit. Campaign Legal Center’s Larry Noble called the decision “disgraceful” and that it could lead to allowing donations for different party tasks.   read more

She was sent to Sarajevo in 2006 as deputy chief of mission to the U.S. Embassy to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cefkin came back to Washington in 2009 to serve as an assessor on the State Department’s Board of Examiners. She returned to Manila in 2010 as the deputy chief of mission. Since 2013, Cefkin has been senior advisor for Burma (Myanmar).   read more

Salim's father, Abdulmajid Dostiyev, is a former member of the Tajikistan parliament and was more recently an ambassador to Russia. In 2009, Salim was named to lead the Department of European and American Countries. Salim came to Washington in 2011 as deputy chief of mission at the Tajik Embassy, serving as chargé d’affaires for a time in 2012, and has been there since.   read more

DASP is a federal program meant to take nonperforming mortgages off the banks’ books and improve loan terms for homeowners. Instead, the program is a money-maker for big investors. “By selling homes to private equity giants and vulture capitalists, DASP is fueling the rise of the Wall Street landlord,” said Kevin Whelan. Financial institutions have found it easier to collect insurance payouts, leaving homeowners with a lienholder who has no interest in modifying mortgage terms.   read more