More held after 'Hunger Games' salute

• NEW: "Life in Thailand is growing more absurd by the day," rights advocate says


• NEW: Prime Minister said, "Anyone else want to protest?" after students taken away


• Several students around Thailand detained after flashing "Hunger Games" salute


• Official says Thailand's military government has been "very lenient" toward activists

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- What would Katniss do?

The central figure in "The Hunger Games," the hit sci-fi series about an oppressed people's struggle against a totalitarian regime, is being evoked for real, now, in Thailand among university students expressing their opposition to that southeast Asian nation's military rulers.

Several students, from Bangkok to about 450 kilometers (280 miles) away to the northeast, have been detained in recent days after flashing the signature anti-establishment, three-fingered salute from"The Hunger Games."

By Thursday evening, all of those held had been released, according to lawyers. At that point, according to Human Rights Watch's Sunai Phasuk, about 100 police and military troops had congregated then at a busy cinema in the Thai capital where "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" was set to debut.

Fighting back one finger at a time

'Prohibited by martial law'

Asked about the arrests of students who flashed the salute and others accused of organizing a protest meeting revolving around the Jennifer Lawrence-starring movie, a government official told CNN that the "military is working on reducing conflicts from various political groups." Allowing such political statements, he said, could inflame tensions in the unsettled nation.

"Seeing a movie is a personal thing, and they all have a right to do that," said Maj. Gen. Sansern Kaewkumnerd. "But if, after seeing the movie, there are political activities involved, this is prohibited by martial law, which has been imposed since (last May's) military intervention."

Sansern added, "If we allow one group to hold political activities, then (other) groups would want to do the same thing. We would never achieve peace and order, which we are trying to restore."

Yet there's little indication the opposition is going away, nor is there anything like national elections on the immediate horizon suggesting a return to civilian rule.

Military takes over in Thailand

Opposition uses pop culture

Such political turmoil is hardly new to Thailand. Its military has attempted 19 coups -- 12 of them successful -- in the past 80 years.

The world, of course, has changed a lot over that time, as have the tools and inspirations of opposition groups.

One protest leader, Sombat Boonngamanong, has been especially pivotal in using pop culture references straight out of Hollywood to spread the movement's message.

That includes the story of Katniss Everdeen -- a teenage girl who competes in a spectacle of blood lust known as the Hunger Games and becomes a leader in the revolution against a tyrannical government.

A "Hunger Games" fan club, which consists of university students calling for democracy in Thailand, had planned to meet for the latest film's showing Thursday at one Bangkok theater.

But the showing at that theater and three others that are part of the same Apex chain was canceled -- for "technical" reasons, according to the chain.

Ratthapon Supasopon, from the League of Liberal Thammasart for Democracy, said the theater's management gave them refunds for tickets they had bought in advance. That meant they couldn't watch the movie there, but -- with it opening elsewhere around Thailand -- the group still planned to meet and see the film somewhere else.

Some detained students sign agreement

A young activist, Bangkok University student Natchacha Kongudom, was taken to a police station and then to a military facility for flashing the Hunger Games salute at a Bangkok cinema, according to her friend Ratthapon. Natchacha was let go hours later, after signing an agreement promising not to take part in future political activities, human rights lawyer Anond Numpa said.

Five Khon Kaen University students were asked to sign the same such agreement Thursday, a day after they were detained for eight hours after throwing up the three-fingered salute while wearing shirts bearing the words "Don't want a military coup."

Video from CNN affiliate Channel 3 shows students being led away by authorities, a few feet from Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, after revealing their shirts and holding their fingers aloft.

"It is OK, just gently take them away, we will definitely take care of them," Prayuth said from a stage, where he was addressing civil servants. "This just makes things more difficult if we don't understand each other."

The grinning Prime Minister then elicits laughs by saying, "Anyone else want to protest?"

Two of the students ending up signing the agreement vowing not to partake in political activities, but the others refused. After intense talks, those three were let go without any conditions -- though by then they didn't want to go home out of fear of the military, according to Phavinee Chumsri, from the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

Invited to have an 'attitude adjustment'

Sansern, the military government's spokesman, said Prayuth -- who was the army's chief before taking over as prime minister following the May coup -- told him what happened in Khon Kaen was "very minor" and that he thinks "they are still very young."

"When they grow up they will understand in what we are doing," Sansern said, summarizing Prayuth's sentiments.

As to how the government is handling dissent, the major general insisted the "military have been very lenient toward these activists."

"We'll try to negotiate first, but if they still refuse to listen to us, we'd try to convince them through their parents," he said. "And lastly, we would invite them to have attitude adjustment."

John Sifton, Human Rights Watch's Asia Advocacy Director, thinks it's Thailand's military government that needs an adjustment.

"Life in Thailand is growing more absurd by the day," he says, and "all evidence suggests the so-called roadmap to democracy ... is really a roadmap to nowhere."

"Someone needs to inform General Prayuth that if his system of government is threatened by young people emulating a Hollywood movie," Sifton adds, "it is (a) pretty sure sign that things need to change."

CNN's Kocha Olarn reported from Bangkok and Greg Botelho wrote this story from Atlanta.

How NASA is with us when we fly

NASA invited social media mavens to tour its Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. One project involves this Gulfstream III (right), which is testing new flexible wing technology.

Participants at the NASA event visited a support aircraft hangar housing a Gulfstream aircraft.

Attendee Trina Phillips (right) inspects an adaptive compliant trailing edge flap on a Gulfstream III flight research support aircraft.

Tom Grindle, supervisor of aircraft missions operations, talks to attendees about an F-15 flight research support aircraft.

NASA's ongoing project -- the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge project, or ACTE -- could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fuel costs. NASA test pilot Tim Williams (rear left) discusses an adaptive wing flap on a Gulfstream III.

NASA's Robert "Red" Jensen (right) talks about using smaller aircraft for flight research to cut costs and improve safety.

Grindle shows off a YO-3 support research aircraft. The plane is recognizable due to its slow-speed wooden propeller and long wings.

From left, NASA's Kate Squires leads a panel discussion with NASA pilots Hernan Posada, Tom Miller, Manny Antimisiaris and Scott Howe.

Tom Rigney, engineering project manager, explains the new flexible wing technology, aka the adaptive compliant trailing edge flap.

Williams explains adaptive compliant trailing edge flap technology.

• NASA and Flexsys are developing shape-shifting wings for airplanes


• Flexible wings would save millions in fuel and smooth the ride for passengers


• NASA showed off its wing technology to bloggers and social media mavens this week


• NASA has contributed heavily to innovations used in commercial aviation

(CNN) -- You know those little "winglets" that point up from the tips of airliner wings?

Those were developed by NASA.

And, you know those little grooves in runways that channel away standing water?

NASA again.

America's space agency isn't just about space.

It also develops ways to make our airliners safer and more efficient.

Guess what? You may have been flying with NASA technology for years, and didn't even know it.

Shape-shifting wings? They're coming

Now, an ongoing project could radically change the way airliners look and, more importantly, save hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fuel costs.

NASA calls it the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge project, or ACTE.

It's best described in three words: Shape. Shifting. Wings.

Those words sound like science fiction, but NASA and a company called Flexsys are developing wings that change shape in response to flight conditions and weather.

Superflexible very strong composite materials make it possible.

What does that mean to air travelers?

You've probably looked out the window of an airliner to see the hinged metal flaps on the rear edge of a wing.

New flexible materials allow the wing to change shapes without hinges.

NASA shows off new flight technology

This week, NASA invited dozens of aerospace bloggers and social media mavens to see new aviation technology at its Armstrong Flight Research Center in California's High Desert, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.

They got an exclusive look at NASA's flexible wing project and other ongoing research aimed at aviation. They also got a chance to hang out with engineers and pilots.

Then, they tweeted about it.

At the ACTE test aircraft #flyNASA #NASASocial There must be a lot of seats in there, can we go fora ride? PLEEEEESE? http://ift.tt/1F6353l

— Paul Willett (@momdude56) November 19, 2014

Project manager Tom Rigney compared the flexible wings to "watching a bathtub bend. You don't expect something shaped like that to bend into a very fluid looking shape."

If these new wings end up on airliners in the coming decades, they'll transform our flying experience into smoother, more comfortable and less expensive journeys.

But don't expect them until after 2025, said Rigney.

So, the big question about the flexible wing is pretty simple: How does it work?

That's a proprietary secret. NASA is prohibited from telling us.

But here's what the NASA engineers could say: It morphs to compensate for changing flight conditions.

In the future, "a pilot could be flying through a strong gust and the wings adjust so passengers won't feel the forces of the gust," Rigney said.

It could change the way engineers design airliner wings.

"Now we have wings that are made heavier to withstand gusts, but with this technology, they may not have to design heavy wings like that anymore," said Rigney.

Moving wings in-flight

It's like watching a bathtub bend.

Tom Rigney, NASA project manager

A three-member crew of a heavily modified NASA Gulfstream III has been flight testing this new wing material.

Inside the cockpit sits a mascot: a little stuffed animal named Scrat, the prehistoric squirrel character from the film "Ice Age."

NASA loves its acronyms, so Scrat has been defined as the "SubsoniC Research Aircraft Testbed."

The test flights climb to around 40,000 feet and accelerate to about 75% of the speed of sound.

Never far away is a chase plane, in case an issue comes up and they need an exterior set of eyes on the wings.

The wing material "is just one, smooth surface," said NASA test pilot Tim Williams. "It's very, very solid."

Right now, the wing is adjusted before each flight, not while airborne.

Once this test program is complete, the next step would be to design a new wing.

"I would think that wing would be moveable in flight," said Williams, "and it will make a big difference."

Someday this new wing technology may join the list of NASA innovations that have made air travel safer and more convenient.

Here are five big examples

1. Airborne wind shear detection

A weather phenomenon called wind shear poses danger to airliners during takeoffs and landings.

Wind shear involves sudden changes in wind speed, horizontally or vertically.

Airplanes now have sensors that can predict it while in flight.

In the 1980s and '90s, NASA conducted wind shear research and validated the technology surrounding the sensors.

2. Digital fly-by-wire

Older airliners used heavy cables and pulleys to connect the cockpit controls to the wings and tail.

Now, thanks to NASA research in the 1960s and '70s, pilots control newer airliners via electronic wire-based systems.

3. Lightning protection standards

Airliners are safer from lightning strikes now, due to NASA research during the 1970s and '80s.

What NASA learned has helped protect airliner avionics and electronics from damage by lightning strikes.

NASA developed serrated shapes on jet engine housings as a way to cut noise.

4. Engine nozzle chevrons

Chevrons -- serrated shapes on the rear edges of the nacelles, the jet engine housings -- cut noise in the cabin and on the ground.

These were developed thanks to NASA computer simulations in the 1990s and 2000s.

5. Winglets

Vertical extensions developed by NASA during the 1970s and '80s led to airliner "winglets," which allow planes to slice through the air more efficiently, saving fuel and money.

World's tallest coaster planned

Due to open in 2017, Orlando's "The Skyscraper" features a track that spirals down the side of a 535-foot-tall observation tower.

Riders are promised "more incredible, heart-pounding inside and outside loops, dives, spirals and inversions in a vertical area than riders have ever before experienced," says the coaster's designer, US Thrill Rides.

The Skyscraper will anchor the $250 million Skyplex indoor entertainment complex, due to open in 2017. The tower's observation deck will offer views 535 feet up, accessed by glass elevators.

The Skyscraper is based on US Thrill Rides' Polercoasters concept, with high thrills delivered in a small diameter footprint. Coasters are boarded at the bottom of the tower, then make their way to the top before gravity takes over. Riders disembark at the bottom.

• Animated video offers terrifying look at world's tallest roller coaster, due to open in 2017


• Skyscraper designer says cars will loop, dive and spiral down side of a 535-foot-tall tower


• The coaster will be part of a $250 million entertainment complex called Skyplex in Orlando, Florida

(CNN) -- Plans are underway to build the world's tallest -- and quite possibly most terrifying -- roller coaster at an Orlando, Florida, theme park due to open in 2017.

Suitably called "The Skyscraper," the coaster track spirals up and down the side of a 535-foot-tall observation tower.

Judging by the looks of a simulation video (below) released by the developer, it's going to be one scary ride.

"The unique design of the coaster means more incredible, heart-pounding inside and outside loops, dives, spirals and inversions in a vertical area than riders have ever before experienced," says Bill Kitchen, founder of Orlando-based US Thrill Rides, which designed the Skyscraper.

The design is based on US Thrill Rides' Polercoasters concept, in which high thrills are delivered in a small diameter footprint.

Vintage theme parks have nostalgic appeal

The coasters are boarded at the bottom of the tower, then make their way to the top before gravity takes over, with riders disembarking at the bottom.

See the world's tallest roller coaster

The Skyscraper will be part of a $250 million entertainment complex planned for Orlando's International Drive called Skyplex, which includes an indoor theme park.

The developers unveiled the animated simulation of the Skyscraper at this week's International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo 2014.

Graphic renderings of the roller coaster can be found in the gallery above.

So what's the current highest roller coaster in the world?

Kingda Ka, located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey.

That one features a U-shaped track that shoots 456 feet into the sky and rockets riders from 0 to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds.

Would you give the Skyscrape r a spin? Tell us about your favorite roller coasters in the comments below.

MORE: The most insane new U.S. roller coasters

CIA launches big internal review

• The CIA director launched an agency-wide review of structure and business practices


• The review was launched in September, but was just reported


• Currently the CIA is broken into four different divisions

Washington (CNN) -- CIA Director John Brennan has ordered an in-depth review of the intelligence agency's organizational structure, asking the agency to "take a close and honest look at ourselves."

Citing an "ever-growing number" of complex national security challenges as cause for the evaluation, Brennan announced the internal review in a letter to Central Intelligence Agency staff. The CIA released unclassified portions of the letter on Thursday.

The review will come as the CIA adapts to new threats from terror groups like ISIS and the al Qaeda linked Khorasan group have added to agency's terror landscape.

Related: U.S. strikes against Khorosan group in Syria

U.S. spy details North Korea mission

Obama: Intelligence underestimated ISIS

"I have mentioned several times over the past year that I have become increasingly convinced that the time has come to take a fresh look at how we are organized as an Agency," Brennan wrote in the letter dated September 24, 2014. He added that the review will examine the CIA's structure and "ways of doing business."

Officers leading the review are tasked with looking at ways to integrate the sprawling intelligence agency. The organization is currently split into four major divisions. The clandestine staff that collects intelligence information, for instance, is separate from the staff analyzing the data collected.

Rescue mission had intelligence failures

Uncovering intelligence from ISIS video

"The need for integration has never been greater," Brennan wrote. "The complex national security issues we face today, and the extent to which those issues cross geographic and functional boundaries, challenge our ability to leverage the entire breadth of capabilities the CIA has to offer."

A proposal to split the agency into subject matter divisions where analysts and clandestine officers work together, as reported by the Washington Post, is not yet formal, according to the CIA.

"Given that the review is still pending, the officers have not yet put forth their findings, conclusions or recommendations," said CIA spokesman Dean Boyd.

Court won't revoke Assange warrant

Assange speaks from a window of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on December 20, 2012.

• Court agrees with Assange that prosecutors dragged their feet, but says warrant must stay


• Court: There's a great risk Assange will evade legal proceedings if warrant is lifted


• Assange is accused of sexual assault in Sweden


• He has stayed at Ecuadorian Embassy in London, says he fears ultimate extradition to U.S.

(CNN) -- A Swedish appeals court on Thursday denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's latest request to dismiss an arrest warrant for alleged rape and molestation -- cases that he says are false and politically motivated.

Assange, 43, has been living in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for more than two years to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors want to question him about 2010 allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another.

Assange, who has not been charged, denies the allegations and says he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks.

The Australia native has argued the warrant should be dismissed because, in part, Swedish authorities refuse to interview him at the Ecuadorian Embassy, thereby prolonging a preliminary investigation that he says should have concluded long ago.

The appellate court nodded to this argument, agreeing that "the failure of the prosecutors to examine alternative avenues is not in line with their obligation ... to move the preliminary investigation forward."

But it concluded that, in balance, the arrest warrant must remain in effect because the crimes alleged are serious and because "there is a great risk that he will flee and thereby evade legal proceedings if the detention order is set aside."

"In the view of the court of appeal, these circumstances mean that the reasons for detention still outweigh the intrusion or other detriment entailed by the detention order," appellate judges wrote in Thursday's ruling.

Another appeal expected

Michael Ratner, a U.S. attorney for Assange, expressed dismay over the ruling.

"The court of appeals admits the prosecutor has wrongly failed to move this case forward, but refuses to provide Assange with any remedy. It is astonishing," Ratner said in a news release.

Assange's legal team has said it intends to file an appeal with Sweden's Supreme Court.

Thursday's court decision follows a similar ruling by a lower Swedish court in July.

Assange argues, in part, that the preliminary investigation has been open for an unacceptably long time, and that the arrest warrant improperly keeps him from going to Ecuador, which offered him asylum, or even from going outdoors. Police stand guard outside the embassy, ready to arrest him should he emerge.

Swedish prosecutors say that Assange must be interviewed in Sweden, citing what they say are legal impediments to coercing an interview elsewhere.

Prosecutor Marianne Ny has said that the warrant could remain in place until the statute of limitations takes effect -- five years for unlawful coercion and 10 years for rape.

Assange rocketed to international fame when WikiLeaks began publishing secret government documents online.

After it published the procedures manual for the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay in 2007, it posted documents related to U.S. activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, and diplomatic cables from U.S. embassies.

In August 2010, Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Assange over the allegations of sexual assault from two female WikiLeaks volunteers.

He turned himself in to London authorities the same year, and was remanded in custody.

At the time, a judge ruled that he should be extradited to Sweden, and Assange launched a series of appeals that went all the way to the British Supreme Court. It denied his appeal.

In June 2012, Assange fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy to seek asylum, which was granted in August of the same year.

He's been living at the embassy in London since then.

CNN's Claudia Rebaza and Faith Karimi and journalist Per Nyberg contributed to this report.

Webcam security: What you must do

• UK Information Commissioner's Office says a website is publishing private webcam feeds


• It says the footage has been taken from devices ranging from CCTV to baby monitors


• The ICO says consumers should always change default passwords on cameras


• Consumers should also take the time to read camera systems' instructions on security, it says

London (CNN) -- Unsecured footage from thousands of webcams around the world -- including in the United States and western Europe -- has been accessed and streamed by a website thought to be based in the Russian Federation, British officials say.

The website's operator claims to be republishing the feeds -- from sources including CCTV and baby monitors -- to highlight security weaknesses.

So what can consumers do to find out if their privacy has been violated and to prevent it from happening again?

CNN spoke to Andrew Paterson, senior technology officer at Britain's independent authority on information rights -- the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) -- which issued a warning about the web cams Thursday and Jules Polonetsky, executive director of the Future of Privacy Forum think tank.

Read: Russian website streams thousands of private webcams

How can you tell if your webcam feed has been compromised?

Paterson suggests the first step for concerned consumers should be to check the security settings on their web camera and ensure that their password is not set to default.

"It's a website that's republished the feeds from many thousands of unsecured web cams and CCTV cameras. I believe you can view more or less live footage and it looks like one person has automatically scanned the internet for unsecured cameras and then aggregated this information in one site," Paterson says.

"If you're particularly interested you could try to find your country, you could try to find the region or city that camera is in."

The website guesses location based on IP addresses and has a list of countries from where it is publishing feeds, ranking them by number of unsecured cameras discovered. At the time of writing, the U.S. tops the list -- with 4,591 feeds, followed by France, the Netherlands, Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom.

What devices are affected?

Cyber attacks hitting close to home

How to become unhackable

Beauty queen says webcam was hacked

Reporter: Collect data now, worry later

Cyber attacks hit State Dept. email, web

CCTV cameras and baby monitors are among the devices that feeds have been taken from. But many others could be affected.

"In theory, if you have a web camera and it is interface accessible over the internet, it could be at risk," Paterson says.

Paterson says in the case of the Russian website it appears that the operator has concentrated on only a few makes.

The worry is that others may also have accessed such feeds, he says: "It appears that the person responsible is trying to raise awareness but it's possible other people are doing other things."

Polonetsky says it's valuable to teach the lesson that web cameras need to be secured but says there have to be better ways than publishing people's feeds online.

He says similar problems have existed for years.

"Almost scarier is that there are thousands of other similarly unprotected devices on the web. We continually learn about some essential device that is web accessible," he says.

"There have been some very public examples of smart home equipment that could be accessed remotely," he says -- including devices to raise blinds or turn on lights remotely.

"If you can remotely access something, that means others can remotely access it as well and you need to lock it down -- or you're at risk."

So what can I do to protect my privacy?

Again, Paterson stresses that having a strong password is critical.

"The one piece of advice I can give is that if you have a camera you should go and check if it's secured with a password and must double check it's not the default password," he says. "Secondly, work out whether you actually need to view your webcam over the internet or not. If you don't then you might as well turn that feature off."

While the ICO doesn't know the Russian website owner's intentions, Paterson says that as far as it can tell the feeds have not been archived -- though they don't know for certain.

"It looks like if you change the default password and set a strong one it will no longer show up on website -- but the owner [on the Russian site] could do anything he or she wants," he says.

But the same flaw that has allowed this website to access personal feeds, could also have let other online users view your feed -- and they may not be broadcasting the fact.

"If you're able to log in remotely, then others are able to log in remotely. Either ensure that access is disabled or ensure you have a secure password," Polonetsky says.

Could I seek redress if my camera feed has been accessed?

Polonetsky suggests that delivering a product with a security weakness is "like selling houses without a front door."

"Actually, it's worse," he says. "Here you're selling things to people who don't even know there's not a back door. It's completely irresponsible -- it's like selling a car without a key piece of safety equipment. These things are not safe to be on the internet."

Polonetsky says it is possible that sellers of devices without basic data protection would be considered unfair to consumers under the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's standards.

"It could be considered unfair to sell a product that puts personal data at great risk. It will be interesting to see if any the sellers face action."

In the UK, Paterson says accessing a computer without authorization could well breach the Computer Misuse Act.

"If you have strong evidence that somebody has compromised your camera you may be able to take it to law enforcement," he says.

The ICO itself regulates the Data Protection Act. "If the feed from your camera can identify individuals that would be personal data and if someone's processing that in an unfair or unlawful manner then it could breach the act," he says.

As the website appears to be Russian-based, however, any potential legal action would require action from the authorities there. The ICO is currently trying to enlist their help to get the website taken down.

Cruz trades 'Green Eggs' for Cicero

• Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican of Texas, quoted Cicero in the Senate on Thursday


• Cruz cited the 2,000 year old speech as relevant to President Barack Obama


• Cruz is known for his literary references, which in the past have included Dr. Seuss

Washington (CNN) -- Sen. Ted Cruz has traded "Green Eggs and Ham" for Cicero.

The loquacious Texas Republican, with a penchant for memorable speeches, criticized President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration Thursday by adapting an address from the orator Cicero, warning of the demise of the Roman Republic.

"The words of Cicero, powerfully relevant 2077 years later," the conservative said on the Senate floor.

"When President Obama do you mean to cease abusing our patience. How long is that madness of yours still to mock us. When is there to be an end to that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does now," Cruz intoned.

"What shall we who are the Senate tolerate, President Obama openly desirous to destroy the Constitution and this republic?" he added.

A Cruz spokeswoman explained the events Cicero warned of two millennia ago -- when the aristocrat Cataline, a champion of the poor, was attempting a coup -- apply to the current dispute over whether the President has the right to change immigration laws without the consent of Congress. She said the speech, which ran about four minutes, is "almost verbatim" to how Cicero delivered it.

"It is incredible how accurately this narrative applies to today," Catherin Frazier said. "The President once said he could not take such action on immigration because he was not an emperor, yet today he is acting just as such."

"For we have a resolution of the Senate, a formidable and authoritative decree against you, Mr. President. The wisdom of the republic is not at fault, nor the dignity of this senatorial body," Cruz said. "We alone, I say it openly, we the Senate are waiting in our duty to stop this lawless administration and its unconstitutional amnesty."

The historically themed speech clearly won points for creativity. But it might not have been surprising coming from the Princeton and Harvard trained lawyer. His most memorable words from the floor prior to this were when, during a lengthy filibuster-type speech related to President's health care reform law, he read Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" as bedtime story for his children watching on C-SPAN.