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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- News
High-Ranking Federal Officials’ History of Using Personal Email for Government Business
High-level federal executives routinely use personal email for business, in likely violation of the Federal Records Act. That’s according to a recent survey of federal employees. The survey was conducted by the research group Government Business Council just prior to revelations that Hillary Clinton allegedly exclusively used personal email and a private server at her…Sharyl Attkisson -
- Opinion
Government’s Role in the Financial Crisis
After seven years of hindsight, the conventional explanation for the world’s second greatest financial crisis remains the same: The private banking sector was insufficiently regulated, allowing Wall Street to engage in excessive risk-taking behavior and questionable trading practices, thus triggering the sudden burst of the housing bubble and collapse of housing prices. This narrative is…David Allen -
- Opinion
How to Reform Social Security Disability So Program Focuses on Needs of Disabled Americans
What happens when Social Security Disability Insurance, an integral program that provides benefits to the disabled who are unable to work, runs out of money in 2016? All disability insurance beneficiaries currently face a nearly 20 percent benefit cut. Lawmakers are understandably scrambling to find a solution that prevents this indiscriminate and sudden benefit cut,…Michael Sargent -
- Opinion
Tips for Politicians: How to Not Have an ‘Uh-Oh’ Moment at CPAC
It’s that time of year again – the week when conservative activists and politicians convene in the Washington, D.C. area for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Anyone who has attended CPAC knows it’s a feat of endurance. Only the tried and true politico sits through hours upon hours of speeches. And since the repetitive…Beverly Hallberg -
- Opinion
Patricia Arquette’s ‘Make Believe’ on Women and Equal Pay
The political diatribe from actress Patricia Arquette about “equal pay” during the Oscars showed Hollywood’s talents for “story-telling” and “make believe” are alive and well. Sadly, instead of a passionate speech filled with facts, Arquette followed the same old left-wing script that just doesn’t measure up to the truth. Audiences deserve better. Interested in more…Genevieve Wood -
- Opinion
What Patricia Arquette Got Wrong About the Founders and Women
In a harried Oscar acceptance speech which culminated in a hackneyed call for wage equality, actress Patricia Arquette blamed the Founders for the so-called gender pay gap. “It’s inexcusable that we go around the world and we talk about equal rights for women in other countries when we don’t have equal rights for women in America,”…David Azerrad -
- Opinion
Abigail Fisher Asks Supreme Court to Review Racial Preferences … Again
This week, Abigail Fisher asked the Supreme Court to review her case against the University of Texas at Austin for race-based discrimination for a second time. Students who graduate in the top 10 percent of Texas high schools are automatically admitted to all state-funded schools, and remaining applicants, such as Fisher, receive a “holistic review”…Elizabeth Slattery -
- News
How This Phony CIA Agent Pulled Off a ‘Scam’ to Impose Environmental Regulations on Americans
Remember the EPA bureaucrat who got caught receiving $900,000 in pay without working because he claimed he also was employed by the CIA? According to a report from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the man, former climate policy expert John Beale, “retired” when questions arose about his spotty attendance and expense records. Only he…Kevin Mooney -
- Opinion
Gowdy Accuses State Department, CIA of Not Cooperating With Benghazi Investigation
More acrimony emerged between Democrats and Republicans during yesterday’s third public hearing of the House Select Committee on Benghazi than had been seen at any point since the committee was established last summer. Earlier hearings had been on topics suggested by Democrats on the committee—embassy security and other improvements—that were relatively uncontroversial. But the focus…Helle Dale -
- News
Poll: Health Care Costs Top List of Americans’ Biggest Financial Concerns
In a new Gallup poll, Americans called “health care costs” and “lack of money/low wages” the “most important financial problems” facing their families. Fourteen percent of Americans said that health care costs or low wages were their biggest concern. Gallup notes that this is the first time that health care costs have “returned to the…Kate Scanlon -
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How You Can Be Legally Guilty of Racial Discrimination When You Didn’t Intend to Discriminate
Can you be liable for racial discrimination even if you lacked the intent to discriminate? The Obama administration would say “yes,” under its favorite dubious legal theory, known as “disparate impact.” Today, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., a challenge to…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
Should a Judicial Candidate Be Able to Request Campaign Contributions?
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in its first campaign finance case since it threw out the aggregate limit on campaign contributions to federal candidates last year in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. But this latest case involves the rules pertaining to state elections in Florida, not federal elections,…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
How the Supreme Court Reacted to This Town Allowing Politicians Bigger Signs Than Churches
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, a challenge by a church to a town ordinance regulating signs. Like most other towns in America, Gilbert, Ariz., regulates when, where and how many signs may be displayed. Temporary noncommercial signs are classified by their content, and each category has…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
The Biggest Problem Politicians Are Tempted to Ignore
With so many high-profile, headline-grabbing issues facing the incoming Congress, lawmakers might be tempted to ignore one of the most persistent problems in Washington: overspending. How bad is it? In 2014, federal spending reached $3.5 trillion, and the one-year deficit was $486 billion. These huge numbers represent “a small and temporary improvement in the nation’s…Ed Feulner -
- Opinion
The House Just Made It Harder for Politicians to Steal From Social Security Retirement Fund
This Tuesday, House Republicans nearly unanimously adopted new rules for the 114th Congress (H. Res. 5) which set the stage for long-overdue Social Security reforms to protect disabled Americans and seniors from indiscriminate benefit cuts. The new rule strengthens the integrity of Social Security’s separate trust funds (disability and retirement) by putting a procedural barrier…Romina Boccia -
- News
#BlackBrunchNYC Captures Racial Divide in Police Protests
Americans protesting fatal police encounters with black men took to a new location yesterday to shine light on the issue: New York City brunch spots. Using the hashtags #BlackBrunchNYC and #BlackLivesMatter, protesters targeted midtown restaurants, which they called “white spaces.” https://twitter.com/sharminultraa/status/551776710753288192 Reaction to the unconventional demonstration locations was divided. Some Twitter users rallied around the cause,…Kelsey Bolar -
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Why City Officials Tried to Shut Down Church’s Youth Glee Camp
A legal battle between government officials in upstate New York city and a local Presbyterian Church has created a new challenge to religious freedom. The city of Auburn, N.Y., served pastor Eileen Winter with a zoning violation in July for hosting a youth glee camp inside a historic church-owned mansion adjacent to the First Presbyterian…Gabriella Morrongiello -
- Opinion
How the Left Wants to Eradicate Planes, Trains and Automobiles by Shutting Off Their Financial Fuel
“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is not just the name of Steve Martin and John Candy’s 1987 everything-goes-wrong comedy film. It’s also the prospective casualty list of the foundation-led anti-fossil-fuel campaign called the Divest-Invest movement. The new crusade “responds to climate change by urging universities, churches, pension funds and other big institutional investors” to destroy petroleum…Ron Arnold -
- Opinion
United, Orbitz Want to Keep Your Airline Ticket Prices Artificially High
The past few years have seen the rise in “disruptive” tech startups playing a game of almost pure arbitrage, taking advantage of market inefficiencies to benefit consumers. Car services such as Uber and Lyft connect anyone with a smartphone directly to drivers, shortcutting the traditional street-hailing model. Uber is now valued at more than $40…Andrew Kloster -
- News
According to GQ, 16 of the 20 ‘Craziest Politicians’ Are Republicans
Are Republicans crazy? Readers of GQ might think so. The January edition of the men’s magazine featured a list of “the craziest politicians of 2014,” naming 16 Republicans, three Democrats, and one county sheriff. Fair? A number of political commentators have said no. Calling out the magazine for engaging in “some serious media bias,” Boston…Kelsey Bolar