Arizona Gov Janet Napolitano to head Homeland SecurityArizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor who will now be responsible for immigration policy and border security, which are part of Homeland Security's myriad functions.  

 

Stealing Georgia - Let's Hope Not AgainNo more DREs without voter-verifiable paper ballots,or blocking citizen observers from the vote tallying process.No elections without automatic audits of a substantial percentage of the ballots, outsourcing our elections to corporations,disenfranchisement, caging,and other tricks to keep citizens from voting.We're supposed to be the leading democracy in the world,a model for others;let's make that more than wishful thinking. By the web  

 

Auto Industry to You: "Your Wallet or Your Life."Extortion, that's the subtext this week as the heads of Detroit's financially and morally bankrupt auto makers try to shake tax payers down for their own sins. By Stephen Pizzo  (6 comments)

 

Poll: Did Hillary Cut The Secretary of State Deal Months Ago, Before Obama Picked Biden?Maybe Hillary didn't want to be VP. Maybe what she wanted all along, if she couldn't be president, was Secretary of State. Maybe she cut the deal before Obama settled on his VP pick. By Rob Kall  (3 comments)

 

What the Big 3 bailout debate is really aboutWhat the Big 3 bailout debate is really about By Freddie Venezia  (3 comments)

 

The Power of Peaceful Protest: Field Notes from a Post-election Prop 8 RallyThat elements combine to create change? While observing a rally supporting 'No On Prop8' in California (gay marriage ban) I made several observations. It is the goodness of people, combined with anger at injustice, and peaceful assembly that make this movement powerful. By Sharon Martinson  

 

Robert Gates: As Bad As Rumsfeld?"As Bad As Rumsfeld?" The title jars, doesn't it. The more so, since Defense Secretary Robert Gates found his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, such an easy act to follow. But the jarring part reflects how malnourished most of us are on the thin gruel served up by the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM). By Ray McGovern  (5 comments)

 

The car crazy crowd and the cross they may bearPersonally, what is happening in Washington politics is local with me. Two families where I have long friendship ties are impacted. A parts manufacturer is closing down. By Margaret Bassett  (3 comments)

 

"Pretty little children": Some thoughts on how racism is socialized in immigrant communitiesNegotiating the U.S. racial hierarchy remains one of the primary and most By Mikhail Lyubansky  (5 comments)

 

The Sucker Bait Called Hope --Making the best of a slow apocalypseWe just concluded an election in which both parties talked about hope, one more so than the other. There is quite a difference between hope and understanding the facts, then holding justified optimism. Hope is magical thinking, a sucker's game. Politicians the world round fully understand this. By Joe Bageant  (6 comments)

 

Tim Robbins to NYC Bd of ElectionsMany of us read with dismay the experience of actor and voting activist Tim Robbins. Because of his persistence, and perhaps because of his fame, he was ultimately able to vote. It wasn't easy nor was it pretty. Note the vindictive behavior of the NY Board of Elections - releasing Robbins' home address to the newspapers, adding insult to injury. By Joan Brunwasser  (5 comments)