Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
It’s official: America’s spy agencies are not allowed to collect the communications data of Americans without a warrant. With a two-thirds majority, the US Senate amended the law on Tuesday to prohibit this specifically. Since Edward Snowden’s revelations two years ago, efforts had been underway in Congress to either make the spying program official or to rein it in. While … >>
You can probably imagine which story has been dominating the news in the United States for the past week. That’s right: the one about the problems with the new health-insurance program popularly known as Obamacare. The story that’s been dominating the news in Germany is also being reported in America, though not always as front-page news. That story, however, is … >>
A few weeks ago, Edward Snowden, a former contractor for America’s National Security Agency (NSA), revealed through The Guardian and Der Spiegel that the US government has been keeping secret records on ordinary Americans and spying on its allies. Since then, I’ve been asked two questions over and over: 1. What’s your opinion of what Edward Snowden did? and 2. … >>
One of the most famous men in Pennsylvania died on Sunday. Joe Paterno, 85, had been the head coach of the Pennsylvania State University football team for the last 46 years. He was one of the most successful college football coaches ever. To sports fans, he was like one of the gods on Mount Olympus. There is even a statue … >>
Herman Cain is history. On December 3, he ended his attempt to become president. Five women brought him down. Four accused him of sexual harassment while he was head of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in the 1990s. The fifth said she had been having an affair with Cain for the past 13 years. As the accusations became public, the … >>
Yes, I was an altar boy. No, I wasn’t abused. I was also a Boy Scout, and I wasn’t abused there either. Yet judging by all the scandals that have come out over the years, there must have been some potential for it. The European controversy over the Catholic church has again spilled over to the United States, and in … >>
I almost missed it, it was so small. Hidden below a story about the death of Socks, the Clinton family cat, was this item in Time magazine: REOPENED Five years after the atrocities committed within its walls shocked the world, Abu Ghraib now touts modern amenities and humane treatment of its inmates. The renovated jail, rechristened Baghdad Central Prison, formally … >>