I've written extensively on the many basic problems that make all government-run, computer-automated mass surveillance programs a waste of taxpayer money. But a new report (PDF) from the Offices of Inspectors General of the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, CIA, NSA, and Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows in some detail how our government took the bad idea of building powerful computers to sniff out a terrorist needle in a digital haystack, then made it even less useful in practice.

Clifford Law Offices, a nationally recognized aviation firm in Chicago, filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York today (Tuesday, March 31, 2009) on behalf of the family of Jennifer Neill, 34, of Buffalo, who was 27 weeks pregnant with her first child. The complaint alleges a series of charges that focus on the failure of the airlines, the aircraft manufacturer and others for failing to take the necessary steps to protect its passengers in the event of the loss of speed on landing with a wing contaminated with ice and snow.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced that she has voluntarily posted the disclosure form she submitted to Governor Paterson during the Senate appointment process to her website at www.kirstengillibrand.com. Senator Gillibrand has been a leader by example on transparency issues in government, and was the first Member of Congress in history to post her earmark requests [.