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Politics

Tonight on The Independents: Governmental Breakdown, With Glenn Reynolds, Mike 'Heckuva Job' Brown, NSA Whistleblower William Binney, Thad McCotter, and Critics of the V.A., CIA, and Post Office!

Matt Welch | 10.10.2014 6:01 PM

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Friday is theme-show night for The Independents (Fox Business Network, 9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT, with re-airs three and five hours later), so tonight's is on the target-rich subject of "Governmental Breakdown." It's one of the best shows we've ever produced, so you should watch it, probably on your television.

The program kicks off with Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds explaining what the Centers for Disease Control's mission creep can tell us not just about the Ebola response, but to the nature of government in general, from 9/11 to the Secret Service and beyond. "CIA SpyGirl" Emily Brandwin talks about the perils of having a Cold War-era spy agency drag itself into the asymmetrical 21st century. Former GOP congressman and longshot presidential candidate Thaddeus McCotter breaks down how the governing breakdown in Congress is worrisome even for those of us who don't want the bastidges to get things done.

There have been few governmental foul-ups in this dreary young century more infuriatingly inept than those in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. So yes, we have former Federal Emergency Management Agency head Michael Brown on to talk about how FEMA went bad, what it's like being the scapegoat, and whether the original sin in disaster-relief is federalizing the stuff in the first place.

Reason readers (and viewers) know all about O.G. NSA whistleblower William Binney; Fox Business Network viewers will also get a taste of the man who was punished for warning his superiors that the agency was shredding the Constitution. Speaking of punished whistleblowers, have you heard of the V.A.'s Scott Davis? Well, you will tonight, including detail of how the White House itself allegedly intervened to punish bad news at the source. And we all know the Post Office sucks, but what happens when you try to compete with the monopoly? Outbox co-founder Evan Baehr will explain how a great idea got snuffed.

This is such a good show, it hurts my feelings. I dare you not only to watch it, but encourage your frenemies to do the same. It really is that swell.

Follow The Independents on Facebook at facebook.com/IndependentsFBN, follow on Twitter @ independentsFBN, and click on this page for more video of past segments.

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NEXT: Travel Ban: How Not to Fight Ebola

Matt Welch is an editor at large at Reason.

PoliticsWorldCivil LibertiesPolicyThe IndependentsEbolaCentral Intelligence AgencyGovernment failureCongressNatural DisastersNSAVeteransPost OfficeCDC
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