Politics

Calif. council accepts resignations of 3 managers

Submitted by JimV on Fri, 07/23/2010 - 11:34pm
Calif. council accepts resignations of 3 managers
Source: www.sfgate.com
(07-23) 05:40 PDT Bell, Calif. (AP) -- Three administrators whose huge salaries sparked outrage in this small blue-collar suburb of Los Angeles have agreed to resign, the City Council said Friday. Council members...
Sometimes angry mobs get it right.    

Say no to a government 'kill switch' for the Internet - InfoWorld

Submitted by JimV on Thu, 06/24/2010 - 5:59pm
Say no to a government 'kill switch' for the Internet - InfoWorld
Source: www.infoworld.com
A proposed law would give the president sweeping new powers to shut down the Internet if he declares a 'cyber emergency'
This is absurd, so of course it gets bipartisan support.    

Glenn Greenwald: Obama authorizes assassination of U.S. citizens

Submitted by JimV on Sat, 04/10/2010 - 9:55am
Obama authorizes assassination of U.S. citizens
Source: www.salon.com
N.Y. Times, Washington Post both report that the president has taken a step beyond where even George Bush would go.

NY Times: The Real Arithmetic of Health Care Reform

Submitted by JimV on Mon, 03/22/2010 - 4:32pm
The Real Arithmetic of Health Care Reform - NYTimes.com
Source: www.nytimes.com

Could this really be true? How can the budget office give a green light to a bill that commits the federal government to spending nearly $1 trillion more over the next 10 years?

The answer, unfortunately, is that the budget office is required to take written legislation at face value and not second-guess the plausibility of what it is handed. So fantasy in, fantasy out.

    
Hate to rain on the parade.

ABC Nightline: Preaching Hate in Uganda

Submitted by JimV on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 1:14pm
ABC Nightline: Preaching Hate in Uganda
Source: www.youtube.com
Anti-Homosexual Bill In Uganda Causes Global Uproar. The Proposed Bill Could Punish Homosexuals Who Marry With Life In Prison. Obviously, homosexuality remains a sensitive topic in America -- with every opinion from every inch of the spectrum. The face of the gay debate is much different in Uganda, ...

Reason: Cover Your Ears

Submitted by JimV on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 6:47pm
Cover Your Ears
Source: reason.com

Protecting democracy by protecting voters from clashing opinions

A good argument in favor of the Supreme Court's recent controversial decision.

Ron Paul asks Hillary Clinton if she supports Bush Doctrine

Submitted by JimV on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 5:13pm

Ron Paul gets a chance to ask Hillary Clinton, Gates, and Mullen if they support the Bush doctrine of "preventive war". He gets the answer you would expect. This is from a joint hearing on Afghanistan following Obama's speech/announcement last night 12/01/2009.    

Democrats defending the Bush Doctrine. Something tells me most Obama voters would have thought these answers would be a definitive "No."

Glenn Greenwald - The Washington establishment suffers a serious defeat

Submitted by JimV on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 10:30pm

Something quite amazing happened yesterday in Congress:  the House Finance Committee -- in a truly bipartisan and even trans-ideological vote -- defied the banking industry, the Federal Reserve, the Democratic leadership, and mainstream Beltway opinion in order to pass an amendment, sponsored by GOP Rep. Ron Paul and Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson, mandating a genuine and probing audit of the Fed.

What issue can bring together libertarians like Ron Paul, socialists like Dennis Kucinich and everyone in between? Audit the Fed!    

New York Times: In House, Many Spoke With One Voice - Lobbyists’

Submitted by JimV on Mon, 11/16/2009 - 6:53pm

In House, Many Spoke With One Voice - Lobbyists’Source: www.nytimes.com

More than a dozen lawmakers’ statements on the health care debate were ghostwritten by lobbyists working for Genentech, a biotechnology company.

Healthcare reform, brought to you by Big Pharma.

Glenn Greenwald: A court decision that reflects what type of country the U.S. is

Submitted by JimV on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 6:27pm

It's not often that an appellate court decision reflects so vividly what a country has become, but such is the case with yesterday's ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Arar v. Ashcroft (.pdf).  Maher Arar is both a Canadian and Syrian citizen of Syrian descent.  A telecommunications engineer and graduate of Montreal's McGill University, he has lived in Canada since he's 17 years old.  In 2002, he was returning home to Canada from vacation when, on a stopover at JFK Airport, he was (a) detained by U.S. officials, (b) accused of being a Terrorist, (c) held for two weeks incommunicado and without access to counsel while he was abusively interrogated, and then (d) was "rendered" -- despite his pleas that he would be tortured -- to Syria, to be interrogated and tortured.  He remained in Syria for the next 10 months under the most brutal and inhumane conditions imaginable, where he was repeatedly tortured.  Everyone acknowledges that Arar was never involved with Terrorism and was guilty of nothing.  I've appended to the end of this post the graphic description from a dissenting judge of what was done to Arar while in American custody and then in Syria.

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