Controversies
Opposition Grows to Obama’s Refusal to Reveal Secret Patriot Act Powers
Congressional Democrats, the media and civil libertarians are continuing their fight with President Barack Obama over his administration’s secret interpretations of the Patriot Act.
Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado, who ... read more
Researchers Defeat Publishers in Clash over Open Access to Scientific Reports
Support from a leading scientific publishing company for a controversial piece of legislation produced a backlash from more than 8,000 academic researchers.
Four years ago, as part of the 2008 Appropriations Act, Congress approved guidelines e... read more
Whistleblower Sues IRS for Non-Payment
Five years ago, Joseph Insinga blew the whistle on his employer, telling the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that it was helping numerous companies avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes.
Insinga figured he deserved a reward for his actions,... read more
New Law Makes it Easier for Airports to Replace TSA with Private Security Screeners
Airports fed up with the work of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) can now opt out of using government screeners in favor of private contractors, under a new law passed by Congress last month.
Officially, airports have had the a... read more
Nation’s Biggest Spy Center Settles into Utah
Officially called the Utah Data Center, the enormous facility under construction will eventually house one million square feet of computers. Its mission will be to intercept, decipher, analyze and store large volumes of communications collected by... read more
90% of Taser Death Victims are Unarmed
Although the Taser™ was invented to give law enforcement a non-lethal alternative to the handgun for subduing uncooperative or even violent suspects, more than 500 Americans have been killed by Tasers since their use began to take off in 2001, whi... read more
Florida Government Turns its Back on Public Universities (Except for One)
The Florida legislature decided last week to cut funding for the state’s public universities by $300 million next year–even as it agreed to spend money on one powerful member’s plan to establish a new university in his home county. Such cuts are n... read more
Parents Risk Jail to Send Kids to Better Schools
What was once a rare occurrence has become a common violation of the law: Parents lying about their residency in order to send their kids to better schools.
This unlawful act, punishable with time in jail, has increased in recent years, especi... read more
Los Angeles Police Cause Average of One Traffic Accident a Day
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has implemented a new policy for dealing with officer-related traffic accidents, which have been occurring at an average of one a day.
In January, The Los Angeles Times reported that the LAPD had caused... read more
Witness to Post-Katrina Murder by Police Had to Enter Witness Protection to Avoid Harassment
Bernard Calloway of New Orleans is suing the police department claiming he was harassed after witnessing the post-Katrina murder of Henry Glover.
Glover’s killing became one of the more sensational cases after the disaster due to the involveme... read more
Texas Outsourcing Border Security
For the past six years, the state of Texas has been relying on a private security company to help guard the border with Mexico, while Governor Rick Perry has boasted having a “model border security” operation.
The Texas Department of Public Sa... read more
Government Audit Accuses Energy Dept. of Ignoring Own Guidelines for Green Energy Loans
While operating its $34 billion loan guarantee program, the Department of Energy has sometimes ignored its own rules for properly approving green energy financing. The program is supposed to support projects that deal with solar power, wind energy... read more
Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Cast Deciding Vote in Case Involving Her Own Lawyer
Justice Patience Roggensack of the Wisconsin Supreme Court did the right thing by judicial standards in 2009 when she recused herself from participating in a case involving an attorney, Donald Schott of Quarles & Brady, who had previously represen... read more
Drug Addiction in Oklahoma Costs More than Entire State Budget
Oklahoma is facing a crisis of drug abuse among its residents. The problem is so widespread that the annual cost of drug addiction is estimated to be $7.2 billion, in a state whose entire government budget is $6.7 billion.
Of the $7.2 billion ... read more
Ohio Government Confirms Earthquakes Caused by Fracking-Related Injection Wells
In addition to drinking water contamination, earthquakes can now be added to the harmful consequences of the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, according to the Ohio state government. In fracking, energy companies use pow... read more
Bank Foreclosures of Churches Reach Record Numbers
The 2008 crash of the real estate bubble and the ensuing Great Recession have victimized not only homeowners, but their houses of worship as well, as banks foreclose on churches in record numbers. As AllGov previously reported, foreclosures agains... read more