U.S. Intelligence Agency News
The Daily Signal provides coverage of intelligence operations, surveillance controversies, and the role of U.S. agencies in national security and civil liberties.
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- Opinion
Why Leftists Feel Entitled to Block Highways, Shut Down Speakers, and Harass Public Officials
When I was in graduate school, I learned a lot about the left. One lesson was that while most liberals and conservatives abide by society’s rules of order and decency, most leftists do not feel bound to live by these same rules. I watched the way leftist Vietnam War protesters treated fellow students and professors….Dennis Prager -
- Opinion
Brexit Is Around the Corner. Here’s a Key Step to Renew the US-UK Special Relationship.
It is undeniable that the United States and the United Kingdom have a “special relationship.” Throughout periods of global change, and in times of tumult and war, the Anglo-American relationship has been constant. We have stood beside each other through two world wars, the Cold War, and now in our confrontation with global terrorism in…Sen. Mike Lee -
- Opinion
Ideal US-UK Free Trade Agreement Supports the Special Relationship
A group of 11 conservative and libertarian think tanks on Sept. 18 launched “The Ideal U.S.-U.K. Free Trade Agreement: A Free Trader’s Perspective.” Published by the Cato Institute, and its primary authors, Dan Ikenson and Simon Lester of Cato, it is not a plan for a free trade area, or a plea for one. It…Ted Bromund -
- Opinion
Some Are More Equal Than Others in Socialist Venezuela
It’s amazing how similarly “real” socialism turns out, every time it’s tried. In George Orwell’s book, “Animal Farm”—essentially the story of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, told through farm animals—there is an incredible moment where the animals, who suffer under the system of communism that they’ve created, come to a horrible realization that everything has…Jarrett Stepman -
- Opinion
I’m a Pediatrician. Here’s What You Should Know About a New Study on Transgender Suicide.
A new study is out that examines the risk of suicide among transgender teens. The results confirm a long pattern of data: Transgender teens attempt suicide more frequently than adolescents generally. Unfortunately, this data may be used to pressure parents to put their children through radical transition-affirming therapies. This would be a serious mistake. The…Michelle Cretella -
- Opinion
A Federal Court Just Limited Your First Amendment Right to Freely Associate
Should you be forced to disclose your charitable donations to the government? Is it an invasion of your privacy and a violation of your First Amendment rights if the government requires nonprofit membership organizations that you join and contribute to—such as the NAACP, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Right to Life Committee, or Americans for…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Special Interests Are Getting Rich Off Our Politics. Here’s How.
The next time you feel the urge to join a major protest to condemn the elite, powerful forces who are supposedly making your lives worse, don’t bother. The event is most likely organized by elite, powerful forces who are getting rich off your activism while you don’t make a dime or a dime’s worth of…Bill Walton -
- Opinion
The Ugly Culture Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide Would Create
On World Suicide Prevention Day, Sept. 10, we recognize suicide as the tragedy it is. Yet at this very moment, activists are agitating to expand—not to prevent—physician-assisted suicide. This practice promotes the idea that some lives are more valuable than others, an idea that rips apart the social fabric of our nation. No one should…Monica Burke -
- Opinion
An Obama Judge Said Michigan’s Voting Law Was Racially Motivated. A Higher Court Disagrees.
Sanity has prevailed in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of that court, in very strong language, has stayed the absurd decision of an Obama-appointed judge, Gershwin A. Drain, who threw out the Michigan Legislature’s decision to eliminate straight-ticket voting for supposedly violating the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Michigan…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
The Law Shouldn’t Give Gov. Cuomo Special Treatment
There’s been no news from New York about Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s little eagle feather and his big mistake of law. And no news is bad news for the rule of law. Congress should take note. In a speech last month, Cuomo inadvertently discussed violating a federal statute, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, when…John-Michael Seibler -
- Opinion
How the ‘Uber Eats’ Mentality Pushes Millennials Toward Socialism
Need new headphones? Amazon. Need to get across town? Uber. Need a date? Tinder. Need to end world poverty? Socialism. What do these all have in common? They are quick fixes to problems we face daily—things we need or like to confront in a timely manner. But how are they different? The first three work, the…Carine Hajjar -
- Opinion
Racial Discrimination at Harvard and America’s ‘Elite’ Universities
The Justice Department made news on Thursday when it filed a “statement of interest” in a long-running lawsuit against Harvard University that supported claims of Asian-American students that the university is discriminating in its admission process. In fact, the evidence uncovered during the discovery process of the pending lawsuit seems overwhelming that Harvard is violating the Civil…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
What to Do About the Growing Popularity of Socialism
Twenty-eight-year-old democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez jumped into the national spotlight when she defeated longtime Congressman Joseph Crowley in the New York Democratic primary in June. Many view her, along with socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as carrying the mantle for a renewed socialist trend in the United States among millennials. Indeed, socialism enjoys stronger support…Brad Wenstrup -
- News
Senate Ramping Up Trump Judicial Confirmations This Week
Since March, Senate Democrats have forced 30 hours of debate on each of five of President Donald Trump’s federal district court judge nominees subsequently approved with at least 95 votes. District court judges—the first jurists to rule on often contentious cases—have been stalled, but Senate Republicans plan this week to keep the Senate in session…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
3 Examples of How Social Security Robs Americans of Greater Income Before, During Retirement
Social Security takes a whopping 12.4 percent of American workers’ paychecks, but a new backgrounder by The Heritage Foundation shows that workers are getting a bad deal from the program. Despite its popularity, Social Security typically provides very low—and in many cases, negative—rates of return. Although the program provided high returns and windfall benefits to…Rachel Greszler -
- News
No. 2 ICE Official Rejects Subordinates’ Push to Split Agency
The second in command at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says he opposes a request by 19 regional supervisors to break the agency in two, with one focused on human smuggling and drug trafficking, and the other focused on removing illegal immigrants. Matthew T. Albence, the agency’s acting deputy director, said the divisions of ICE—Enforcement…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
US Holds Talks With Chinese Officials as Trade War Looms
China’s Ministry of Commerce sent trade officials to Washington this week at the invitation of the United States. This is a welcome respite from all the talk of a trade war between the two countries, but we are still far from an armistice. While the talks between Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen and…Riley Walters -
- News
Trump Yanks Former CIA Director’s Security Clearance, Ponders Others
President Donald Trump has stripped former CIA Director John Brennan of his security clearance, blocking a harsh critic’s continued access to classified information granted to certain former government employees. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders read a statement from Trump to reporters during the daily briefing Wednesday. The statement, citing Brennan’s “unfounded and outrageous…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Colorado Officials Want to Crush Jack Phillips for Not Creating Some Cakes
For over six years now, Colorado has been on a crusade to crush Jack Phillips because state officials despise what he believes and how he practices his faith. After Phillips defended himself all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won, he thought Colorado’s hostility toward his faith was over. He was wrong. Colorado…Jim Campbell -
- Opinion
Britain’s Inability to Handle Last Year’s Flu Season Shows Perils of Socialized Medicine
Younger doctors who are flirting with support of government-run health care should consider some hard facts—including the unfortunate results such control would likely have for patients and doctors themselves. They should also look at the recent raw experience of Britain with a government-controlled health care system. But first, let’s look at the most serious plan…Kevin Pham