By Dave Lindorff
Hillary Clinton, John McCain And The "Stupid" Vote
If stupid racist people are voting for you and helping you win election contests, is this something you should be bragging about?

By Michael Collins
Polite Fascism Contracts The Right To Vote

By Rob Kall
The Lonnnggg Vice Presidential Selection Waiting Game
don't expect to find out very soon WHO will be the running mates for Obama or McCain, unless...

By Robert Parry
McCain And The 'Unitary Executive'
If John McCain wins the presidency – and gets to appoint one or more U.S. Supreme Court justices – America's 220-year experiment as a democratic Republic living under the principle that "no man is above the law" may come to an end.

By Mahdi Ibn-ziyad
Of Gas Prices, The Sacred Individual Ride And Mass Transit
Explores the irony of consumer faith in private transportation as gas prices force more people to hop in lines waiting for mass transit

By Sandy Frost
Shriners Spin Away "Breakdown Of Spiritual Order"?
Why did the Shriners launch a PR campaign and settle a defamation lawsuit they filed against two whitleblowers right before the world's Masonic Grand Masters met in Washington DC? What is it that they are trying to hide?

By ALONE
US & UK Collage: 1978 To 2008:
I desire to share two videos and collection of music wrapped in collage about Pax- Americana and Pax-Britannia dating from 1978 through 2008 As you Americans and British go through the 6th year of war in Iraq and the 8th year of the so-called War on Terrorism, it is fascinating to note that "If I Were A Terrorist: A James Pence Video!", , is now one of the most popular and most controversial videos in America's heartland,

By Enid Dennis
Take "The Bush-McCain Challenge"!
A challenge to voters...See how much you know

By Chris Lugo
Workers Rights Are Human Rights
Opinion Editorial written by Chris Lugo, Green Party of Tennessee candidate for US Senate on Senate Bill 2123, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act which allows public safety officers the collective bargaining rights they deserve.

By Rowan Wolf
How To Grow Tragedies - Myanmar
Cyclone Nargis and more victims of a fragile global system.

By Patrick Fish
I Was A Long Haired Hippie Freak
unique commentary on the history of terrorism

By Muhammad Khurshid
Pakistan Is Again On The Hit List Of Al-Qaeda
Again an effort is being made to create a situation in Pakistan like before October 18. Terrorists have planned more suicide attacks as they have the desire to break the frontline state in war on terror. The breaking of frontline will be disastrous for whole world. Do you think that Bush can play a role in saving this frontline? Terrorists in tribal areas situated on Pak-Afghan are making preparation for another attack.

By William Fisher
Inspector Clouseau Squared
How Scott Bloch's investigation of the White House, and vice versa, will end: With a whimper!

By Jay Diamond
Jimmy Carter's Right! Presidents Should Not Be Liars.
The media have failed to make emphatically clear to Americans the truly pernicious Bush/Rove Strategy behind their attack on Iraq.

By Chris Rice
The Great Depression Of 2009
The credit market damage is so severe that the largest banks in the US are at risk of losing much of their capital. Citibank alone said it needs to raise $30 billion in capital. If the 5 largest banks in the US are already in crisis mode, and other major banks in the EU too, and don't forget Canada, England and so on, things look incredibly negative. And the losses have only just begun to pile up. There are many more to come,

By Mike Folkerth
Endless War And Iraq's Oil:
War in Iraq, America's economy, peak oil, and Iraq's petroleum reserves, add up to some evident truths.

By Juda S. Engelmayer
We Must Make New Memories Of Israel For Our Kids To Appreciate It Too
The memories I have of Israel are rooted in a time long past. Losing the zeal for Frontier Zionism is what Israel faces today, and finding new and creative ways of giving people, both Israelis and outsiders alike a newfound attachment to the country is the challenge facing Israel and its supporters worldwide. A new public relations plan is one way to approach today's generation and for futures to come.

By Nathan Nahm
"President Hillary Clinton" Vs. "President Barack Obama": Which Will Be A More Significant Historical Precedent?
Hillary Clinton has claimed that she has got a raw deal because she is a woman, and that the bar for a woman is higher than the bar for a black. I discuss whether this claim is true, and whether the election of a woman, or the election of a black president, would be a more significant historical event by reviewing relevant historical cases of females who ascended to the top of the political system in the past.

By Sandra Marcella
2008: The Year American Women Lost The Right To Vote
This article details the impact of the Democratic Primary race on how the women voting bloc in the Democratic Party is viewed, treated and ultimately ignored in this historic race between Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama.

By Chris Rice
Bring Bush To Justice: General Strike
How to plan your protest for Sept. 11th

By MJ Creech
How To Do An Exit Poll
For those who have ever done or considered doing a citizens' exit poll for the Nov. 2008 election, here is what we learned from doing a BIG one in eight counties in Ohio on Primary Day. It's good to know what to expect from your County Boards of Election and from local precinct judges. This is a companion piece to "Was there Election machine fraud in Franklin County, Ohio, Primary Day?". Recallvotingmachines.com for a handbook

By GoldenT
Wall Streets Enters A New Era: Death By Feeding Frenzy
The flood of Wall Street created liquidity now has the government's backing to destroy New York, Washington, and the nation in a veritable feeding frenzy.

By Richard Volaar
War Between Wayne Madsen And Dick Cheney Escalates!
Today, "Swingin' Dick" Cheney owns this here land as outright as Pinochet owned Chile; that means nobody threatens the Swingin' Dick. Times like these call for the exercise of pure power, a demonstration of the raw exercise of political muscle: you get someone else to humiliate your opponent.

By Wanda Woodward
Twenty Nine Reasons People Need To Pull Their Heads Out Of The Sand
This lists 29 reasons why people need to stay informed, collaborate, build bridges, and stay connected during these profoundly challenging times of global warming, energy depletion, and overpopulation.

By Mark Twain
The War Prayer
From time to time, oh, say perhaps once a year, I think it is useful to revisit The War Prayer, by Mark Twain. It has now been more than a year since I offered it for anyone's reconsideration, and I think it's once again time.

By Ed Tubbs
We're DOOMED!
There are a number of pretty heavy steps that all earth's habitants need to take RIGHT NOW, since yesterday, which would have been more advantageous to our chances of survival, is a few decades too late.

By Susan Allen
Comcast Censorship: Complaint To MA Attorney General
Comcast has been engaging in censorship in violation of Amendments 1,4 & 5.

By TheSeeker
A Divorce Is A Divorce Is A Divorce
Is the divorce between Democrats who support Clinton or Obama permanent?

By Moin Ansari
The Bigotry Of McCain's Pastors
The article discusses the writings Senator John MacCain's pastors. Why did the news media ignore the bigotry?

By By Barry Alford
George W. Bush's Other Undeclared War: NCLB
No Child Left Behind has been a major problem for schools, for children, and for the country. Yet, President Bush continues to push it, even with its problems.

By Dr. Dennis Loo
The Road Ahead And The Audacity Of Moral Truth
Many people think the only political power the people have is through the electoral process and voting in particular. This is like buying a car that you can only steer every four years. Would you buy such a car? This essay analyzes this widespread perspective and offers another road.

By Jane Stillwater
One Plane-ride Away From Pretty: Mothers Day In Iraq
This is my third embed in Iraq and so far it's going rather smoothly -- except that Mothers Day over here consisted of eating pumpkin pie in the DFAC, worrying about stop-loss and trying to make it to the latrine in the middle of the night in my bunny slippers.

By Mark Sashine
Slimy Love 4: In Your Face. A Monologue Of An Angry Jew
From the author: I don't like him. Sometimes I don't like him at all. We argue all the time. But he never quits. He comes to me during my insomnia and he says that stuff again and again. When I tell him to shut up he whispers. I can't get rid of him. So I share him. Here he is.

By Zena Crenshaw
Private Citizens Address Judicial Accountability On Capitol Hill
On Thursday – May 15, 2008, various groups will co-host a "Citizens' Forum On Judicial Accountability" on Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C. as part of a week long gathering of some of the world's most prominent government whistleblowers and human rights activists.

By E. Nelson
Why Voting For A Winner Will Trump Bigotry In West Virginia And Prove The Pundits Wrong.
West Virginians go to the polls tomorrow and these "hard working white Americans" will prove the political pundits wrong.

By Think Progress
Immigrant Detention In US Can Be 'Death Trap'
A Washington Post investigation, joined by 60 Minutes, has found disturbing evidence that immigrants are suffering from neglect and some don't survive detention in America. Post reporter Dana Priest says the investigation showed an immigrations and customs bureaucracy "that offers many immigrants no care or slow care or poor care...and they also show that the employees inside are panicked about this."

By C.L. Pagano
Scorpio Full (Blue) Moon, May 19-20, 2008
Don't miss this 'once in a blue moon' chance to shift your priorities to the deep values rooted in your soul, which will release the fear, anxiety and helplessness which hold you back from living mindfully. It's time to take yourself seriously and engage the mythic imagination to discover how to live divinely or die mythically. Sound extreme! That's Taurus and Scorpio for you!

By JGideon
'Daily Voting News' For May 12, 2008
a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issues

By Sharon Roach
If Obama Does Not Make It Into The White House My Voice Will Still Be Heard
If Obama does not make it into the White House my voice will still be heard and my vote will still be counted because as Martin Luther King Jr., once said "I am somebody". We all count because we are a part of the fabric that makes up this nation.

By Frank Schaeffer
McCain Is Dangerous
We Obama and Clinton supporters are like kid brothers squabbling in the living room over the TV remote while a predator is breaking into the house.

By Pablo Ouziel
Myanmar And Why They Should Fear Us
Myanmar and why they should fear us

By Evelyn Pringle
Curtain Time For Barack Obama - Part I
Republicans have enough damaging information against Barack Obama to knock him off the ballot before the November election. Those at the top of the Democratic Party know this by now and voters need to recognize that if they nominate him they are throwing the election. Nothing else can explain why they would allow this disaster to happen.

By Josh Mitteldorf
The Franchise: Our Founding Fathers And The Universal Sufferance
Making sure that only the right people vote, we can make sure that only the right people get elected. Isn't that what our democracy is really about?

By Frosty Wooldridge
The War On Drugs In The Year 2015
After 37 years and nearly a trillion dollars, drugs in America today remain available to all ages, classes and sections of the country. The War on Drugs proves a monumental $70 billion a year failure. It's time to legalize, regulate and sell drugs to our citizens in an orderly fashion. Here's what happened in 2015 when we accomplished that intention.

By Stephen Lendman
Disturbing Stirrings - Ratcheting Up For War On Iran
Hawkish rhetoric increases chance for war on Iran. Very unlikely would be with nuclear weapons and practically no chance of an invasion.

By Brasch
All The News That Fits--In 500 Words Or A Graphic
It was a tough decision by the editors of USA Today. What to feature as its cover story. A celebrity wedding or the deaths of 25,000 people.

By Stephen C. Rose
Thorstein Veblen On The Web
Thorstein Veblen is one of the most ignored and prophetic thinkers in our past. Here is a short guide to his continuing presence on the Web.

By Mike Folkerth
Black Gold; The End Of Oil:
Peak oil isn't just a theory any longer, it's transpiring right before our eyes. What remedies are our leaders suggesting? Use more of course.

By Dean Powers
Emanuel To Kennedy/America: Support Your Party Blindly
Rahm Emanuel is a better Democrat than his comments reveal.

By Allen L Roland
WHY WE'RE IN DEEP TROUBLE IN IRAQ
The reason we're in deep trouble in Iraq is basically because of inept moral leadership which starts with George W Bush which unfortunately has corrupted the entire Cheney/Bush administration. It's Rivero's Rule ~ all organizations and countries will eventually reflect the character and moral integrity of its leaders: Allen L Roland

By Ed Martin
May This House Be Safe From Tigers
I have an engraved sign on my mantle I had made that says, "May this house be safe from tigers." Its message is the operating principle of the political and religious leaders of the world. Three examples of that principle in operation are George Bush and the preachers Hagee and Wright. It works as well for me as it does for them. I've never been bothered by tigers and they've never been bothered by ethics, morals or doubt.

By Richmond Gardner
Santorum's Word Choices
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum makes some interesting word choices.

By MJ Creech
Was There Election Machine Fraud In Franklin County In The Ohio Primary?
Was there Election Machine Fraud in Franklin County in the Ohio Primary, favoring Clinton? The evidence from a comprehensive citizens' exit poll on March 4, 2008, suggests just that. Look at the evidence yourself and decide. One thing is certain: citizens need to be allowed not only to poll at the door of polling places, but also to do audits and recounts in this pseudo-Democracy.

By Joan Brunwasser
Reflections On Mother's Day, Silver Linings, And Second Chances
I love Mother's Day.It's such a nice way to celebrate where we've all come from as well as our own part in shaping the next generation. Since we mothers are human,after all,it's nice to celebrate our collective success rather than dwell on the wild roller coaster ride that inevitably accompanies it.I want to discuss how an event that looks bad or troubling can somehow morph into something positive ""a blessing in disguise.

By Hamad Alomar
The Syrian-Iranian Invasion Of Lebanon
The occupation of Beirut by Hizbullah and the arming of Hizbullah to a State-level is not a civil war. It is a foreign invasion by all standards.

By Skeeter Sanders
Clinton Campaign Appears Doomed As Obama Takes Over Superdelegate Lead
It's all over -- almost. Barack Obama will emerge from the Democratic Party's August national convention in Denver as its standard-bearer for the presidency of the United States. And there's nothing that Hillary Rodham Clinton can do about it -- because she's lost the majroity of the party's superdelegates.

By Jay Janson
Cruel Americans Always Enjoy Hearing Enemy Body Counts – So Do Suicide Bomber Recruits
Associated Press daily reports how many "suspected insurgents" were killed yesterday. Americans don't imagine 'enemy' cadavers as bringing suffering and destruction to lives of family members. Bodies of America's 'enemies' are counted with the same satisfaction, that one feels while removing the opponents eliminated counters when playing a board game. The U.S. plan remains the same: Get higher body counts before the 'they' do.

By Edward Smallwood
Mass Commuter Migration
An analysis on living patterns in the United States after $4 gasoline.

By Jon Gold
Justin Martell Questions WH Press Secretary Dana Perino On 9/11 Secrecy
Student Scholar For 9/11 Truth Justin Martell Questions White House Press Secretary Dana Perino On 9/11 Secrecy.

By ALONE
FRANCE IS ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION: IT IS UP TO THE WORLD TO PUT PRESSURE ON CHINA TO GET IN LINE TO SUPPORT BURMESE VI
This is a piece which begs the question--how does the world want to define important terms, like "sovereignty in intra-state relations" in a century that has already witnessed many attacks on formerly cherished ideas, like "just war theory", i.e. concept of preemptive war, human rights, and torture. The case of whether to send aid into Burma despite the bad military regime there provides the starting point for the desired dis

By Martha Rosenberg
Egg Supplier To Dept. Of Defense Caught In Cruel Video; Trader Joe's Dumps
Monrovia-based Trader Joe's announced an "indefinite" ban of NuCal Foods, Inc. which distributes Gemperle eggs after the disturbing video

By JGideon
'Daily Voting News' For May 10 And 11, 2008
a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issues

By Clint Lacy
Selling Off Freedom's Frontier
Promoters of the Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area project have promoted it as a way to preserve heritage and historic sites; but is it really a way to sell off historic sites in order to inject $10,000,000 into a failing Kansas economy?

By Bruce K. Gagnon
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON PEACE
Speech to Global Greens Congress in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 2.

By Richard Volaar
Respect As A Core Principle: Where We Are
A new "respect" is at a barest beginning in the United States of America. Respect 2.0 embraces the lessons of the past, but no longer freezes time-honored principles into "rules" that make the good the enemy of the best. It is the true meaning of "novus ordo seclorum."

By Allen L Roland
MEMORIES OF MY MOM
Those who we love deeply become part of us forever for they live in our heart ~ as my Mom most certainly still does : Allen L Roland

Best News Links from the Web

---

By  
Military Analysts Named In Times Expose Appeared Or Were Quoted More Than 4,500 Times On Broadcast Nets, Cables, NPR
...in segments covering the Iraq war both before and after the invasion, as well as numerous other national security or government policy issues. A spreadsheet listing each of the analysts' appearances documented by Media Matters link is available here. It really highlights how 'incestous' MSM has been with its 'experts'. Straight journalistic malpractice!

By  
Conyers Mounts Opposition To Iran Attack
House Judiciary Chair John Conyers writes: "As we mark five years of war in Iraq, I have become increasingly concerned that the President may possibly take unilateral, preemptive military action against Iran. During the last seven years, the Bush Admin has exercised unprecedented assertions of Executive Branch power and shown an unparalleled aversion to the checks and balances put in place by the Constitution's framers."

By  
Rove Refuses Call To Testify Under Oath AGAIN
A House Judiciary Comm deadline passed Monday with former WH adviser Karl Rove standing by his refusal to testify about allegations that he pushed the DoJ to prosecute former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. In his latest offer to settle the matter, Rove sent the panel a letter offering to respond to questions in writing, according to his attorney. But he reiterated that he would not testify publicly and under oath.

By  
How Bush Used Spin To Sell The Iraq War To Americans
We see the cost of not having an honest, open argument, whether about Pentagon strategy or about how the banking system really works, and the media feel embarrassed: “How did we miss that?” In Washington, and elsewhere, the answers are often the same. It comes down to unspoken deals between powerful people, and smiling faces telling fairytales.

By  
Fox Commentator: Ron Paul Revolt Could Be 'disaster' For Republicans
Rep. Ron Paul is still in the GOP race and even drew 16% of the vote in the recent Pennsylvania Republican primary. Now his supporters are planning to stage a "revolt" at the Republican National Convention in September, possibly with the aim of securing Paul a prime time speaking slot.

By  
Barbara Ehrenreich: Hillary's Gift To Women
n Friday's New York Times, Susan Faludi rejoiced over Hillary Clinton's destruction of the myth of female prissiness and innate moral superiority, hailing Clinton's "no-holds-barred pugnacity" and her media reputation as "nasty" and "ruthless." Future female presidential candidates will owe a lot to the race of 2008, Faludi wrote, "when Hillary Clinton broke through the glass floor and got down with the boys."

By  
Is John Yoo A Monster?
The president asked John Yoo to define torture. He did it. Are Yoo's "torture memos" one of the most heinous mistakes in American history -- or could he have been right? Read Yoo's own words in the transcripts from interviews conducted for Esquire.

By  
House Republicans File Brief Siding With White House In Subpoena Battle
In a filing yesterday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Rep. Cannon asked the court to allow them to file a brief in the case arguing against the House's suit and with the administration. They are just trying to save the House from itself...?

By  
Washington University Law Professors: Rescind Honorary Degree For Anti-Feminist Phyllis Schlafly
Opponents note that Schlafly's accomplishments include going after "the gay and lesbian agenda," calling for the "impeachment" of Supreme Court justices, calling anyone who believes in evolution an "atheist," and opposing the Violence Against Women Act. She has also claimed that women "are too emotional to handle intellectual or scientific debate" and described sex education as "in-home sales parties for abortions."

By  
Charges Dropped Against Gitmo "terrorist" Whose Confession Was Obtained Through Torture
The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi citizen alleged to have been the "20th hijacker" in the 9/11 attacks. Mohammad al-Qahtani was one of six Guantanamo Bay inmates charged with murder and war crimes in February. Lawyers for al-Qahtani say charges are being dropped because his confession was obtained under torture.

By  
Bond: White House Seems Flexible On Immunity For Telecoms Over Wiretaps
Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said the White House seems willing to let the FISA court help determine whether phone companies should be shielded from litigation.

By  
Cease-Fire Fails To Pacify Sadr City
Hospital Officials Say 11 Killed, 19 Wounded In 2 Days Of Clashes With Shiite Militants

By  
GOP Shifts Away From Bush On Oil Bill
The House and Senate are expected to defy the White House today and pass legislation that would require the administration to halt oil shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. "The strong bipartisan support represents a major shift for Republicans, who until now have generally followed the lead of President Bush."

By  
TREASURY: Corporate Tax Revenues Down As Federal Deficit Balloons 88% Higher Than Last Year
With the housing crisis and volatile markets slowing the economy, the Treasury Department reported yesterday that "corporate income-tax revenue over the first seven months of the fiscal year" was 14.7 percent "lower than during the same period a year earlier" while "the federal deficit ballooned to $152 billion, 88 [percent] higher than the same period last fiscal year."

By  
VETERANS: The Pentagon's Unfounded Fears About The GI Bill
The original GI Bill, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed in 1944, "provided full tuition, housing, and living costs for some 8 million veterans," and paved the way for America's post-war prosperity and repayed a debt owed by a grateful nation to those who served.

By  
Iraq: Will We Ever Get Out?
ThomasPowers of NYBooks Getting out of Iraq will require the same kind of resolution as it took to get in: a willingness to ignore the consequences. Is it possible that the new president will have that kind of resolution? I think not. Clinton & Obama don't sound drained of hope or bright ideas, determined to cut losses and end the agony. Planning for withdrawals might begin on Day One, but the plans will be hostage to events.

By  
Half In Ten: From Poverty To Prosperity
Today American Progress launched Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity, a new campaign to cut poverty by 50 percent over the next 10 years. We are pleased that Senator John Edwards has taken the role of National Chair of this ambitious new project. The multi-year campaign will focus on the issues facing the poor and middle class in America, building an effective constituency to advocate for specific policy changes.

By  
Book Review: You Don't Have To Be Famous: How To Write Your Life Story
Writing an autobiography (or an autobiographical essay) can be daunting. But writing your story can lend pattern to the formless chronicle of everyday life, share clinical or personal lessons learned, put painful events into perspective, and even bring back purpose and direction to a life set adrift by illness.

By  
How The Pentagon Propaganda Machine Worked: Are You Telling Me To Tell A Lie??? Surely Not!
The Pentagon document dump on its propaganda program reveals this interesting insight as to how the Defense Department worked with conservative allies to manipulate the media.

By  
Indiana Congressman Joe Donnelly Endorses Barack Obama
The superdelegate flow to Obama continues unabated.

By  
Does Protest Embolden The Iraqi Insurgency?
In this essay, Dr. Bica considers the National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper entitled "Is There an "Emboldenment" Effect? Evidence from the Insurgency in Iraq," (Iyengar and Monten)and challenges its conclusions that open debate about the war gives hope and encouragement (aid and comfort) to the insurgents thereby prolonging the conflict, threatening America's ability to achieve victory, demoralizing the troops . .

By  
ACLU Skeptical Of Senate Report On "Homegrown" Terrorism
WASHINGTON, DC - May 8 - After Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a report on Islamic homegrown terrorism today, the American Civil Liberties Union strongly urged Congress to use caution when moving forward on related legislation, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (S. 1959).

By  
Why Harsh Immigration Crack Downs Will Never Work
Interesting discussion of state laws which changed economy simply by legislating "immigrant" questions. Arizona suffered when "legals" and their possibly "illegal" family members left state. California raised minimum wage and locals responded, making jobs for immigrants scarce. Gist: Mexicans know which states to come to. Nothing but a national law would level the problem enough to create change.

By  
Efforts To Remove Detroit Mayor To Go To Vote
Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (after being in office 6 years) has three possible actions facing him. It's up to the city council to decide. Names like Conyers (wife of Congressman John) who is pro tem chairman of council and Granholm, governor of state, are prominent in story. Which way? It makes Hillary's delegates seem like a mere whisper.

By  
Hedge Fund Titans Are Treating Us Like Pawns In Their Economic Chess Games
Scott Trill of Alternet details how hedge funds are the makers and breakers of the economy. Cerberus wanted to buy Blackwater, and changed tactics when the idea was in the news. George Soros "broke the bank" in England and gives money to progressive causes. Alan Greenspan helped such entities by lowering interest to a virtual zero, and now is advising them. And we thought US Treasury was in charge?

By  
200-plus At Furman University Opposing Bush Visit
More than 200 Furman University students and faculty members are objecting to the school's first visit by a sitting U.S. president, criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and environmental issues. One of the professors who helped gather the signatories said she felt a professional compulsion to make her views known. "I'm an ethicist. How could I not be upset about Bush's torture policy?"

By  
5 Gitmo Detainees To Face 9/11 Capital Case
A Pentagon official has formally approved death penalty charges against reputed 9/11 architect Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other men for allegedly conspiring in the Sept. 11 attacks. Military Commissions officials e-mailed the approved charge sheets to defense lawyers in Washington, D.C., after the close of business Monday.

By  
Congressional Democrats Plan Three-stage Charade To Pass Iraq War Funds
In order to once again approve hundreds of billions of dollars to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while posturing as opponents of “Bush’s war,” the Democratic leadership in Congress has crafted an elaborate legislative charade that is set to begin unfolding this week.The aim of bundling money for fiscal 2009 with the appropriation for 2008 is to get the issue of Iraq off the table before the 2008 election.

By  
U.S. Steps Up Bullying And War Moves Against Iran
by Larry Everest | Since September 11, 2001, the U.S. has been on a reactionary, imperialist crusade to crush Islamic Fundamentalism, overthrow governments not under its thumb, and forcibly restructure the entire Middle East-Central Asian regions. Today the U.S. is targeting Iran, saying it is one of the biggest problems it faces globally. And in recent weeks U.S. threats against Iran have sharply escalated on many fronts.

By  
ABC/WaPo Poll: America 'SERIOUSLY Off On The Wrong Track'
President Bush's approval rating at 31 percent, a new low. Just three presidents have dropped lower. Bush, however, "has gone 40 months without majority approval, beating Truman's record (also during economic discontent and an unpopular war) of 38 months from 1949-52." Eighty-two percent of Americans also believe the country is on the wrong track, "up 10 points in the last year..."

By  
World CO2 Levels At Record High - Sliding Out Of Control
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record high, according to new figures that renew fears that climate change could begin to slide out of control. Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels in the atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost 40% since the industrial revolution and the highest for at least the last 650,000 years.

By  
Why The Propaganda Campaign For International Intervention In Burma?
The Bush government is seeking regime change there. No wonder the military dictators don't trust them. This is a great article explaining the US' machinations exploiting the recent cyclone in Burma. Just ignore the economic ignorance of the last paragraph.

By  
Food Crisis Symptom Of Dubious Liberalisation
The high food prices that have sparked riots in many parts of the developing world - from Indonesia, India and Bangladesh to Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and Haiti - should come as no surprise. These are only the latest in a series of events many developing countries have suffered as a result of opening their borders and neglecting domestic agriculture.

By  
Government Efficiency And Network Theory
Science News reports on a study relating (in a loose way) the efficiency of a national government with the size of its cabinet. Researchers in Vienna found that the development level of countries, as a proxy for the efficiency of their governments, is in general lower for countries with more members in the national cabinets.

By  
Domestic Spying Far Outpaces Terrorism Prosecutions
The number of Americans being secretly wiretapped or having their financial and other records reviewed by the government has continued to increase as officials aggressively use powers approved after the Sept. 11 attacks. But the number of terrorism prosecutions ending up in court -- one measure of the effectiveness of such sleuthing -- has continued to decline, in some cases precipitously.

By  
Mr. Jenna Bush Gets A Piece Of The Action
You know what bugs me about Henry Hager? People Magazine says when he wanted to marry Jenna, he talked to the other twin first. And then he asked George and Laura and "they kept the plan a secret from their daughter" for more than a month. Makes you wonder how he's handling the honeymoon, just one-on-one. Or if he's getting some folks from the hotel to hold her down.

By  
Rove Tells House Panel He'll Answer Questions In Writing
Former White House political adviser Karl Rove has declined a request to testify before Congress about the criminal case against former Gov. Don Siegelman and instead made a counteroffer to answer questions in writing.

By  
GOP Vote-Suppressor-in-Chief Thor Hearne Deserves A Raise, Gets A Boost From The NYTimes And Continues His Unapologetic
"The state is a presidential battleground state where recent gubernatorial and Senate races have been decided by margins as little as 21,000 votes," writes Levine before quoting Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition's John Hickey who says, "If you exclude 240,000 people from the

By  
New Front In Republican War On Voting: Disabled American Veterans
An attorney who has been taking on the VA points out that the Administration got caught allowing paid campaign workers from the Rep. Party to register voters at their facilities while they disallowed nonpartisan groups from the same places."They've been forced to admit under oath that they told the League of Women Voters that if they took a position on Iraq,they'd lose their access.The court told them they can't do that...

By  
Faulty Machines Ready To Count Your Vote
Based on scientific research, we have a clearer picture of just how vulnerable our American voting system really is."The main issue is turning over the counting of our elections to corporations and government insiders," Harris said. "It's actually a transfer of power that was never designed in our democracy. These machines are quite literally having big brother count our votes."

By  
Cancer Causing Monkey Virus From FDA-Approved Vaccines
Contaminated polio vaccines were injected into children up until 1963, and contaminated batches of oral polio vaccine were administered to some children until the end of the 1990's.

By  
This Week In Congress 5.12.08 - 5.16.08
War Supplemental, Farm Bill, Energy

By  
Former State Dept. Official: Amb. Crocker Is Either 'Negligent' Or 'Intentionally Misleading'
At a hearing on the U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq and corruption in the Iraqi govt, two former State Dept employees testified work "was ignored and demeaned by the Dept of State, the Dept of Justice, and the govt of Iraq." It was also revealed the State Dept completely altered a report on an Iraqi watchdog agency that was "a disaster."

By  
Kathy Bay Malloy: Barack's Religion Problem
According to an op-ed written by Edward Luttwak in today's New York Times, contrary to popular opinion that Muslims would embrace Obama because his father was Muslim, the opposite might be true. Obama might find himself in hot water with Muslims here and especially abroad specifically because he committed the "crime" of denouncing his faith and turning to Christianity.

By  
Quiet US Confession: Weapons Were Not Made In Iran After All
According to a report by the LA Times correspondent Tina Susman in Baghdad: "A plan to show some alleged Iranian-supplied explosives to journalists last week in Karbala and then destroy them was cancelled after the United States realized none of them was from Iran.

By  
O'Hanlon, These Aren't Reagan's Ground Forces
Lawrence J. Korb, the person charged with saving the All-Volunteer Army under Reagan, responds to a recent Michael O'Hanlon op-ed in the Washington Times that gives a misleading portrayal of the quality of our ground forces. He submits that Reagan would have implemented a DRAFT rather than stop-loss the military to death.

By  
Brain Scam
Why is PBS airing Dr. Daniel Amen's self-produced infomercial for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease? I learned after several frustrating phone calls and e-mails with PBS spokespersons, the nation's public broadcasting system did not vet "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" for scientific validity. Faced with the prospect of overlooking a preventable disaster, the public is a sitting duck for Amen's medical sales pitch.

By  
Secret Law Hearing Follow-Up
"It's a given in our democracy that laws should be a matter of public record," wrote Senator Feingold in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. "But the law in this country includes not just statutes and regulations, which the public can readily access. It also includes binding legal interpretations made by courts and the executive branch. These interpretations are increasingly being withheld from the public and Congress."

By  
FDA Posts Trilateral Cooperation Charter For The NAU
For all you nay sayers that say there isn't a move to "harmonize" the US, Canada and Mexico into a region, take a look at this!

By  
White House Issues Policy On "Controlled Unclassified Info"
The White House last week issued a long-awaited policy on "controlled unclassified information" (CUI) to provide a uniform government-wide system for safeguarding unclassified information that is deemed sensitive. But the new policy will do nothing to restore public access to government records that have been improperly withheld.

By  
Ron Paul's Forces Quietly Plot GOP Convention Revolt Against McCain
Quietly, largely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September.

By  
Don't Push Her! Clinton's Campaign Chair Warns Fellow Democrats
Some people have been looking for signs of a graceful exit from the Democratic presidential race by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. They probably should not be holding their breath. Terry McAuliffe, her campaign chairman and himself a former head of the Democratic National Committee, made it clear Sunday that isn't happening anytime soon.

By  
Conservatives Doctor Gore Audio Clip
This week Al Gore appeared on NPR, and talked a bit about global warming and natural disasters. Business & Media Institute (BMI), a far-right outfit backed by activist Brent Bozell, thought it best to splice the interview together, to make Gore say something he didn't say.

By  
Rumsfeld Blames The Generals For Poor Pre-War Planning
Donald Rumsfeld claimed in a 2006 briefing that the reason why he did not support a larger invasion force was because commanders did not request it. In reality, Rumsfeld fought back when generals like Shinseki requested more troops.

By  
Jimmy Carter: The Human Rights Crime In Gaza
The world is witnessing a terrible human rights crime in Gaza, where a million and a half human beings are being imprisoned with almost no access to the outside world. An entire population is being brutally punished. This gross mistreatment of the Palestinians in Gaza was escalated dramatically by Israel, with US backing, after Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Authority parliament in 2006.

By  
Taking A Stand Against War
Scott Ritter|As someone who has been urging focused citizen activism for some time now, I find it heartening that there are those in the United States who put action to words and seek to lead by example.

By  
Lieberman: Airstrikes In Iran Are 'a Distinct Possibility'
Lieberman, one of the most vocal supporters of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), has been pushing for war with Iran for a long time. Neocon Lieberman has never served in the military, like Dick Cheney, having obtained education deferrments for Vietnam. He sure loves to deploy others to do his dirty work.

By  
Domestic Spying Far Outpaces Terrorism Prosecutions
As more Americans are watched, fewer cases are made. The trend concerns civil liberties groups as well as some lawmakers and legal experts.

By  
China Quake Leaves 8,533 Dead In One Province: Xinhua
A total of 8,533 people have died in China's Sichuan province after a powerful earthquake struck there on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the local government.

By  
Powerful Quake Kills Thousands In Southwest China
A massive earthquake stunned southwest China on Monday, killing more than 8,000 people and flattening schools, factories and homes in a powerful tremor that was felt across a swathe of southeast Asia. The quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, struck close to densely-populated areas of Sichuan province in what Premier Wen Jiabao called a "major disaster."

By  
American Legion Backs Webb GI Bill: This Bill Would "˜Encourage' Young People To Join The Military
"This bill would encourage young men and women to join the military," [National Commander Marty] Conatser said. "As far as retention goes, the CBO estimates that a simple $8,000 bonus to personnel at their first enlistment point would increase reenlistments by 2 percentage points. Another way to encourage mid-level servicemembers to stay in the military is to transfer GI Bill benefits to family members...

By  
McCain Has Missed Every Major Environmental Vote This Congress
McCain ranks last among the 535 members of the current Congress in a rating by the League of Conservation Voters. McCain has missed every major environmental vote this Congress, according to an analysis by the League. His League lifetime record is just 24 percent. This compares with 86 percent for Obama and 86 percent for Clinton. Obama and Clinton ranked 67 and 73 percent in the League's most recent report.

By  
Food Crisis Hits Fallujah
Sharp increases in food prices have generated a new wave of anti-occupation and anti-U.S. sentiment in Fallujah. "This is a country that was damned by the Americans the moment they stepped on our soil."

By  
Commonwealth Re-admits Pakistan After Six-month Suspension
The Commonwealth re-admitted Pakistan as a full member on Monday after a six-month suspension triggered by a clampdown by President Pervez Musharraf, the grouping's secretary general said.

By  
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
FORECLOSURES LOOMING FOR THE HAMPTONS' POSHEST PADS

By  
UNEARTHED: Environmental News
News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report

By  
Bill O'Reilly On "Inside Edition": Vintage Meltdown
Ohh Bill...you're such a dick.

By  
HEALTHCARE: About Those Holes In Your Health Policy
As candidates and campaigns discuss the uninsured, the insured have their own problems...and they are only getting worse. The country is in the throes of a de-insurance movement. While more Americans have come to believe everyone should be covered, many of those who thought they had insurance are finding that their policies cover less and less.

By  
President Apostate?
Barack Obama really is a Muslim, at leasst under Muslim law! He has broken a sacred Muslim law and Muslims worldwide can seek punishment.

By  
VIDEO: CBS: America’s Infrastructure Is Crumbling
Unless more funding and effort are put into saving the nation’s infrastructure, it will continue to crumble, say experts. An estimated $1.5 trillion over the next five years could be needed to avoid large-scale disaster.

By  
John Eskow: Why Has John McCain Abandoned The American Soldier?
A secret message is everywhere the American soldier and veteran looks nowadays. It goes something like this: pssst. Hey dude and dudette. Come. Be All You Can Be. We'll sing you national anthems and write you flowery speeches. We'll solemnly call you the pride of a nation, the Best of the Best, as we Stop-Loss you back to Iraq for tour after tour. But then, goddamn it--if you DO manage to survive, forget it.

By  
A Florida Criminal Lawyers Arrest And The Presidential Elections
If candidates or politicians become fearful of how media will react to their private lives or how they vote on every issue then the United States on every level will be governed by the same media many of us seem to distrust.

By  
FINALLY! The Pundit Analyzing Obama? Some TV FOX NOISE Upstart Named Rove
The bête noire of the Democrats has turned pundit, and his old nemeses do not always know what to make of it.

By  
Ann Wright | Protest Camps Against American Military Bases In Japan And Italy
The US military argues that "forward deployed bases" are critical for projection of US power, a warning to others that the US can be on their doorstep in minutes or hours. We, as citizens of the United States, must decide if it is the military we wanted projected, or whether it is in the best interest of our national security that some aspects of our country be "projected."

By  
Norman MacAfee: The Presidency Of Al Gore, 2001-2009
Continually thinking about how disastrous the last seven years have been, I did some imagining and research on what the world would be like if Al Gore had become president in 2001. Such a process is really about how important it is to elect the right president. I asked friends and acquaintances for their ideas, I read books by and about Gore...

By  
Professor Stephen Hawking Seeks 'Einsteins Of Africa'
Stephen Hawking, the wheelchair-bound physicist, has launched a search for the "Einsteins of Africa" with a lecture in Cape Town.

By  
Judge: Womans Rape Case Against Halliburton Can Go To Trial
Judge: Lawsuit against Halliburton by woman claiming rape in Iraq can go to trial

By  
CBS: America's Infrastructure Is Crumbling
Unless more funding and effort are put into saving the nation's infrastructure, it will continue to crumble, say experts. An estimated $1.5 trillion over the next five years could be needed to avoid large-scale disaster. "When infrastructure declines, we're going to become a second-rate country," says engineer and former New York City transportation commissioner "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz.

By  
Michael T Klare: An Oil-addicted Ex-superpower
The United States' brief reign as the world's sole superpower is over, its status crumbling as surely as the unlamented Berlin Wall. Last month's NATO summit is merely recent evidence of the decline. America's utter addiction to oil, which once powered its climb to might, is its undoing, and an aid to Russia's resumption of power.

By  
Bodies Flow Into Hard-Hit Area Of Myanmar
The bodies come and go with the tides. They wash up onto the riverbanks or float grotesquely downstream, almost always face down. They are all but ignored by the living. In the southern reaches of the Irrawaddy Delta, where the only access to hundreds of small villages is by boat, the remains of the victims of the May 3 cyclone that swept across Myanmar are rotting in the sun.

By  
Losing A Home, Then Losing All Out Of Storage
The foreclosure crisis is hitting yet another American locale: the self-storage center. As they lose their homes, people are turning to these humble cinderblock and sheet-metal boxes to store their stuff. But some people cannot keep up with their storage bills any better than they could handle their mortgage payments, and storage companies are auctioning off their property for a pittance.

By  
As Losses Mount, GOP Begins Looking In The Mirror
Since losing 30 seats and their 12-year stranglehold on power in 2006, House Republicans kept asking themselves the same question: Can it get any worse? With lots of help from Washington--including more than $1.3 million in campaign cash and a last-minute visit by Vice President Cheney--Mississippi Republicans are desperately trying to retain a congressional seat in one of the most reliably conservative districts in the nation

By  
Memo Shows Frustration With Special Counsel
Last September, career investigators at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel opened a probe into whether partisan politics were a factor in the Justice Department's prosecution of former Democratic Alabama governor Don Siegelman on corruption charges in 2006. But on Oct. 11, OSC chief Scott J. Bloch ordered the case file be closed immediately, saying that he had not authorized it.

By  
Michelle Vetoes Hillary
Swiftboat Captain Robert Novak is at it again...according to Novak, unnamed "Close-in supporters" of Barack Obama's presidential campaign are convinced he never will offer the vice presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Clinton for one overriding reason: Michelle Obama. She has been sniping at Clinton since last summer. According to Obama sources, those public utterances do not reveal the extent of her hostility.

By  
Iraq: Will We Ever Get Out?
No one would expect something so dramatic on the first day of a new administration but it remains a fact that the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces, and the power that allowed one president to invade Iraq would allow another to bring the troops home.

By  
Judge Drops General From Trial Of Detainee
In a new blow to the Bush administration's troubled military commission system, a military judge has disqualified a Pentagon general who has been centrally involved in overseeing Guantánamo war crimes tribunals from any role in the first case headed for trial.

By  
Young Evangelicals Flee GOP Over Iraq, Economy, John McCain
Young, evangelical ... for Obama? According to a September 2007 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 15 percent of white evangelicals between 18 and 29, a group traditionally a shoo-in for the GOP, say they no longer identify with the Republican Party. Older evangelicals are also questioning their traditional allegiance, but not at the same rate.

By  
Cost Of Veterans Care To Rise, Despite Decline In Total Number Of Vets.
Despite a decline in total veterans "as soldiers from World War II and Korea die," the government "expects to be spending $59 billion a year to compensate injured warriors in 25 years, up from today's $29 billion," according to internal documents. The VA "concedes the bill could be much higher" as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars go on

By  
How To Build Raised Garden Beds (Video)
Have a small area that you want to grow your own food in? Learn how to build raised garden beds to make the most of your limited space.