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65 Republicans and 3 Democrats Voted to Bailout Wall Street, But Not the Rest of America
65 Republicans and 3 Democrats Voted to Bailout Wall Street, But Not the Rest of America
It seems ideologically consistent for a member of the House of Representatives to vote against the $700 billion Wall Street bailout and against the $819 b... read more
Will Obama Release the Missing Bush “Terror” Memos?
Dozens of secret documents supporting the Bush administration's “War on Terror” could see the light of day thanks to President Barack Obama’s pledge to increase transparency. The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Obama administration on Wed... read more
Massive Layoffs Around the World
Monday was a grim day for the global economy as companies across the employment spectrum announced more then 70,000 job cuts in the U.S. and around the world. These layoffs are coming from even the largest and sturdiest employers, with companies l... read more
Loopholes in Obama’s Human Rights Orders
Writing for Politico, Josh Gerstein takes a closer look at President Obama’s executive orders regarding terror suspects and the use of torture. A few significant delays and loopholes stand out.
1. Torture: Obama's order on interrogations instru... read more
Senate Passes Equal Pay Bill
In 1998, Lilly Ledbetter, a 19-year employee of Goodyear Tire & Rubber, sued her former employer claiming that she had not been paid as well as men in similar job positions. The case wound its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled, in May ... read more
FDA Approves Landmark Stem Cell Study
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for the first time, gave permission for clinical trials on humans of therapy derived from embryonic stem cells. The study will be financed by Geron Corporation, based in Menlo Park, California. Ten years ago... read more
Obama Reverses Bush-Era Control over Papers of Ex-Presidents
On March 23, 2001, only five weeks after assuming the presidency, President Bush ordered the National Archives not to release to the public 68,000 pages of records from the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Under the Presidential Records Act of 1978, t... read more
Flashback: The First Black (Fictional) President
In 1964, my father, Irving Wallace, wrote a novel, The Man, about the first black president. For this, my father received both accolades and death threats. On the final page of The Man one of the characters, addressing his friend the president, Do... read more
Flashback: FDR’s Words Ring True Today
As Barack Obama takes the oath of office during a time of economic crisis, it is worth looking back at what Franklin D. Roosevelt told the American people on the day he took over the presidency 76 years ago at a time of even greater economic peril... read more
Pete Seeger at the Obama Celebration…After All These Years
Like billions of people around the world, I was prepared for the emotional moment in which the United States, after 220 years, inaugurated its first African-American president. But there was one powerful event two days before that caught me by sur... read more
Worst of the Worst of Bush Appointees
In honor of the conclusion of the Bush 43 presidency, ThinkProgress.org compiled their list of the 43 worst Bush appointees. The usual suspects dominate the top of the list: Dick Cheney (#1), Karl Rove (#2). Alberto Gonzalez (#3), Donald Rumsfeld ... read more
Supreme Court Hears Gold Mine Request to Kill All Fish in Lake
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on January 12 in a case in which a gold mining company, Coeur Alaska, wants the right to dump mining wastewater into Lower Slate Lake, near Juneau, killing all the fish and other aquatic life. Coeur was repre... read more
House May Investigate Bush Abuses if Obama Doesn’t
Barack Obama has shown a reluctance to address the issue of possible crimes committed by President Bush and his administration. In this context, the office of John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has issued a 487-page report (P... read more
Better Off Than 8 Years Ago? Don’t Even Ask
While running for president in 1980, Ronald Reagan asked, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Most Americans answered: No, and Reagan was elected one week later. As the era of George W. Bush draws to a close, the answer to a sim... read more
Richard Leon: A Judge at a Fork in the Road
Richard J. Leon is a George Bush-appointed federal judge who is increasingly finding himself at the heart of cases relating to the extent of executive power. Leon has a long association with the Republican Party. In 1987-1988 he served as deputy c... read more
Toxic Sludge in Tennessee More Radioactive Than Nuclear Waste
After the biggest toxic spill in U.S. history (100 times larger than the infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill), the Tennessee Valley Authority has advised residents (inaccurately) that boiling their water would remove dangerous heavy metals and ma... read more