We were saddened to learn of the death of Columbus activist and nationally recognized poet Elizabeth Ann James last Sunday, August 4. Elizabeth was a long time supporter of the Free Press and other local independent media. where she covered the local cultural arts scene. At one time she was a regular contributor to the FP and in the mid-late 1980s we shared a poetry column here.

The anonymous browser TOR is the most popular end user security tool in the world. Using this browser allows people to surf the internet anonymously. The service is used worldwide to avoid secret police surveillance by dissidents living under repressive regimes in places like Syria, Turkey and the United States. It is also used by hackers and others to conceal their identities. According to Wired Magazine's security blog “Threat Level,” the service was compromised by a hack Sunday night.

The malware inserted itself into the browser via a compromised website and immediately began broadcasting the infected computer's MAC address, user name, IP address, and any websites visited subsequently to an IP address in Herndon Virginia owned by Verizon and block leased to SAIC, a major defense and intelligence contractor.

After suffering another loss on the national stage in 2012 the Republican Party seemed ready for a period of serious reflection. Thereafter, Republicans in the House of Representatives re-launched their numerous attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and reassured the American people that any real immigration reform is out of the question. Both political maneuvers call into question the earnestness of that reflective period after the 2012 Presidential Election. A recent squabble between two Republicans concerning national security and personal privacy, however, has resurrected that period for thoughtful contemplation about the GOP’s future direction.

Harry Truman spoke in the U.S. Senate on June 23, 1941: "If we see that Germany is winning," he said, "we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany, and that way let them kill as many as possible."

Did Truman value Japanese lives above Russian and German? There is nothing anywhere to suggest that he did. Yet we debate, every August 6th or so, whether Truman was willing to unnecessarily sacrifice Japanese lives in order to scare Russians with his nuclear bombs. He was willing; he was not willing; he was willing. Left out of this debate is the obvious possibility that killing as many Japanese as possible was among Truman's goals.

One media pundit described the event as an earthquake caused by so many jaws hitting the floor at once. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos just bought the Washington Post for a cool $250 million. A family owned and operated newspaper for nearly eight decades was just gobbled up for a little more than 1% of Bezos's massive personal fortune.

The Washington Post was the gold standard for investigative journalism in America when it came to national security. It broke the Watergate scandal. It defied Nixon again when it published the Pentagon Papers along with the New York Times. It was an early partner with the Guardian in publishing some of Edward Snowden's revelations, although it seems to have gotten cold feet as of late. Perhaps we are seeing why.

Had Bezos been shopping for just any big marque newspaper he could have picked up the Boston Globe for a paltry $70 million just last month. He is one of the few that could easily outbid the Koch brothers for the LA Times and/or the Chicago Tribune. Big name newspapers are a steal for tech moguls. The Washington Post was what he wanted and the Washington Post is what he got.