When Pope John Paul II visited Damascus in May 2001, Bashar used his welcoming speech to denounce the Jews, saying, “They tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.”   read more

In response to conservative economists’ claims that FDR’s New Deal actually prolonged the Great Depression, two-time New York Times bestselling political commentator David Sirota reviewed detailed unemployment data (PDF) from the U.S. census to di...   read more

In a going away present to some of his most trusted aides, President Bush has appointed 45 individuals to positions that will expire in the midst of Barack Obama’s term, or afterwards. He has appointed 12 individuals to 5-year terms on the United ...   read more

After years of watching industry-friendly appointees of the Bush administration run roughshod over environmental concerns, conservationists had hoped Barack Obama’s election would bring a new day at the Department of the Interior. But the selectio...   read more

Eleven years after scientists determined that carmine and cochineal extracts from the female cochineal bug can cause severe allergic reactions, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a rule (PDF) requiring food companies to list the ext...   read more

When Barack Obama takes office on January 20th, he will be the fifth youngest president, and he will be working with the oldest Congress ever. The average age of 57 in the House and 63 in the Senate both represent historical highs. The age increas...   read more

A new report (PDF) issued by Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA), Ed Towns (D-NY), and Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) of the House Oversight Committee, has found that the Bush administration has squandered $26 billion by ignoring 13,800 recommend...   read more

Struggling to meet its recruitment goals, the U.S. Army began a program in 2007 to admit enlistees whose lifestyle has previously prohibited them from joining the military. The controversial lifestyle? Eating toom much.  Obesity is the number one ...   read more

In selecting James L. Jones to be his national security advisor, Barack Obama has chosen a former Marine Corps general who, at the time of his nomination, sat on the board of directors of a leading oil company (Chevron), a leading weapons manufact...   read more

The Department of Energy and the Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) have both proposed new rules to obstruct the public’s access to information guaranteed by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In the midst of financial collapse and ra...   read more

In a January 5 press release, the American Small Business League (ASBL) announced its fear that, “the Obama stimulus plan may change the long-standing federal definition of a small business as being ‘independently owned,’ to include firms that are...   read more

With the departure of Barack Obama to the White House, the Senate will be without a single black senator, unless the Senate agrees to seat Roland Burris to replace Obama. This despite the fact that African Americans make up 12% of the U.S. populat...   read more

From 2005 through late 2007, Maryland Police carried out extensive surveillance on a wide range of range of animal and human rights activist groups, including advocates of establishing bike lanes. The program began when Major Jack Simpson, a field...   read more

Although Bernard Madoff has become the poster child of the collapse, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) carries a heavy share in the responsibility for ignoring Madoff’s impossibly consistent returns; they even ignored years of warnings ...   read more

Unequivocally hawkish Jewish organizations like the American Jewish Committee and the Zionist Organization of America no longer stand alone as the single pro-Israel school of thought in America. A rising tide of moderate Jewish voices has reacted ...   read more

A coalition of 110 animal rights and conservation groups including Big Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Christians for Environmental Stewardship signed a letter (PDF) to Tom Vilsack, Barack Obama’s pick for Secretary of Agricultu...   read more

As Barack Obama contemplates what steps he will take to revive the economy, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has just released its own $1 Trillion recovery package. Katrina Vanden Heuvel advocates immediate passage of the plan, writing i...   read more