Controversies
Clarence Thomas’ Wife May Have Benefitted from His Vote on Campaign Financing
By involving himself in the decision to throw out campaign contributions limits for corporations and unions, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas helped expand fundraising opportunities for his wife’s new political organization.
Virginia... read more
Jobs Available…But If You’re Unemployed, Don’t Apply
There must be something wrong with them. If they’ve been out of work for months and months, they just can’t be good employees. This is the line of reasoning being taken by some employers and job agencies that are refusing to consider any applica... read more
South Carolina Jail Bans All Literature Except the Bible
Inmates at the Berkeley County Detention Center in South Carolina have one and only one reading option during their stay behind bars: The Bible. The jail’s policy bans all other literature, including magazines and newspapers. There is no library... read more
Obama Administration Failed Public on Gulf Oil Spill Estimates
During the early weeks of the Gulf oil disaster, the White House suppressed attempts within the Obama administration to inform the public about how bad the spill might be—a move that undermined the public’s confidence in the government’s handlin... read more
Pro-Foreclosure Bill Slips Through Congress to Obama’s Desk
After all the talk about helping homeowners weather the foreclosure crisis and the recent uproar in the media over banks improperly taking away people’s homes, the Democratic-controlled Congress quietly, and without any debate, passed legislation ... read more
FTC Tries to Crack Down on Phony “Green” Products
Businesses know that green is good with consumers, which explains the dramatic rise in marketing and advertising in recent years for products that are environmentally-friendly. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) believes some companies aren’... read more
Army Suicide Attempts Average Almost 5 a Day
Suicide attempts among U.S. Army personnel continue to climb, reaching an average of nearly five a day in 2009. Statistics from the Army reveal that more than 1,700 active-duty soldiers tried to kill themselves last year, with 162 succeeding. If... read more
578 Groups Petition Obama to Stop Diverting Local Police and Sheriffs into Immigration Enforcement
Fed up with the federal government’s co-opting of police and sheriffs, 578 non-profit organizations called upon President Barack Obama to stop the Department of Homeland Security’s continuing use of local and state law enforcement to go after il... read more
Jobs Available…For Scientists Willing to Defend BP
There’s never been a better time in recent history than now for oceanographers looking for work. The mammoth oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has produced at least a couple hundred jobs for ocean scientists, including 100 alone paid for by BP, wh... read more
Army Uses U.S. Media to Train Psychological Operations Personnel
In what might be called reverse embedding, the U.S Army has been placing soldiers who conduct psychological warfare at local television news stations and newspapers, in order to pick up media skills for their work.
Through internships and fe... read more
Senators Coburn and DeMint Halt Sale of Land for Women’s History Museum
Efforts to build a National Women’s History Museum in Washington, DC, are on hold for now, as Republican U.S. Senators Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Jim DeMint of South Carolina have used parliamentary tactics to delay passage of legislation creati... read more
Senate Democrats and Republicans Join to Block Obama Recess Appointments
No, Senate Democrats are not jumping ship on their president. This week, when Democrats agreed with Republicans to keep the Senate officially in session and prevent President Barack Obama from making recess appointments, they did so in order to ... read more
IRS Has Difficulty Helping Deaf Taxpayers
Americans who are hearing- and speech-impaired had an unusually difficult time getting assistance from the IRS during this year’s tax season. An audit of the IRS’s special phone line for deaf customers found that less than 9% of callers were ass... read more
Connecticut Town Fights Establishment of Synagogue
While the proposed Islamic Center near Ground Zero in New York City has become a national issue, another religious confrontation had been simmering about 95 miles away. The Connecticut town of Litchfield has an ugly situation on its hands, after... read more
Examples of Why Pentagon Burned “Operation Dark Heart”
Upset over the first edition of the Afghanistan War memoir, Operation Dark Heart by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, the Department of Defense went about buying up all published copies and destroying them, claiming the book was too revealing of classif... read more
Court Supports Dismissal of High School Cheerleader Who Refused to Cheer for Player Who Tried to Rape Her
A Texas high school cheerleader who was kicked off her squad for not cheering for a basketball player she accused of trying to rape her lost her free speech case before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court found the femal... read more