
370: Tag and Track
President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 over the holiday weekend, a move that effectively codifies the military's power to detain U.S. citizens on domestic soil. While the White House issued a signing statement expressing reservations about H.R. 1540, the law establishes a permanent legal framework for the drone kill chain and civilian contractor involvement in lethal strikes. This legislative shift suggests a strategy to sunset the Patriot Act by migrating its most aggressive surveillance powers into the annual defense budget. In international developments, Egyptian military forces conducted raids on 17 non-governmental organizations, including the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the National Endowment for Democracy continue to face scrutiny over the use of taxpayer funds for soft-power initiatives like the $188,000 Make Chai Not War comedy tour in India. Meanwhile, Iran's threats to close the Strait of Hormuz have triggered a geopolitical standoff over global oil supplies, mirroring the political upheaval surrounding the Nord Stream pipeline project in Europe. In the United Kingdom, the deployment of Tag and Track CCTV software now allows authorities to reconstruct the movements of individuals across 4.2 million cameras using unique digital identifiers. The transition of New Year’s Rockin’ Eve from Dick Clark to Ryan Seacrest highlighted a shift in media presentation, while CeeLo Green’s performance in Times Square drew criticism for its perceived hypocrisy. In Iowa, the decision to count caucus votes at a secret location to avoid Occupy movement disruptions has fueled theories of a rigged process intended to marginalize Ron Paul. Judge Andrew Napolitano reflects on a decade of post-9/11 policy, arguing that the expansion of state power has fundamentally altered the American constitutional landscape.



















