Controversies

Conservative Florida Gov. Scott Signs Bill Lowering Tuition for Undocumented Immigrants

Three years ago, Scott said: “I believe the federal government ought to do their job. You know, secure our borders. Come up with an immigration policy that Americans understand and people who want to come to this country understand. But with regard to in-state tuition for illegal immigrants I completely oppose it.” That’s not all that Scott was opposed to. Last year he vetoed a bill that would have permitted young undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses. read more

Supreme Court Decision on “Aged-Out” Immigrants Disrupts Normal Ideological Blocs

In Scialabba v. Cuellar de Osorio (pdf), a split court ruled 5-4 that children of immigrants cannot be given special priority by the immigration system just because they “age out” (meaning they turn 21 by the time bureaucrats get around to processing their parents’ visa application). read more

Justice Dept. Moves to Require Polling Places in Tribal Areas

In one area of Montana the distance to get to a polling place is so far that three tribes have filed a lawsuit to have voting offices set up within closer proximity to voters. In another example, the Alaskan village of Kasigluk is separated by a river that has no bridge, and voters on one side have no more than a couple hours to vote before the ballot equipment is removed and packed onto a boat for shipment to the other side, where voting hours are also be curtailed. read more

Facial Recognition Software Creeps Closer to Total Accuracy

The testing revealed that the technologies were better at recognizing photos of older individuals than younger ones, “suggesting that we become steadily easier to recognize using facial recognition software, and more distinguishable from our contemporaries, as we age.” Such software is used to root out duplicates in official documents such as driver’s licenses and passports, access control, social media tagging and criminal investigations. read more

Chicago Sues Drug Companies over Painkiller Marketing

The webpage for Janssen’s Duragesic (fentanyl) drug says that the medication “is a strong prescription pain medication for moderate to severe chronic pain that can provide long-lasting relief from persistent pain.” It makes no mention on the page about use being recommended for or restricted to cancer patients. read more

Cliven Bundy Owes more Money in Unpaid Grazing Fees than all other Ranchers Combined

Bundy’s bill stands at more than $1 million, which includes fees for late payments and trespassing on federal property, since he has not made payments to the BLM since the early 1990s. In comparison, 458 ranchers (out of 16,000) who run cattle on BLM lands collectively owe late grazing bills that total $237,000, according to agency numbers collected by Greenwire. Furthermore, less than 1% of the 16,000 ranchers are more than two months behind on their payments. read more

VA Accused of Retaliating against Whistleblowers

Lawyers with OSC say they stopped the VA recently from taking disciplinary actions against three VA whistleblowers. One case involved an employee who hadn’t been disciplined during 20 years of service, but was now facing a 30-day suspension without pay for reporting on the use of patient restraints in violation of VA rules and procedures. read more

Rep. Goodlatte, the Congressman from Chiquita, Fights Bill to Help Victims’ Families Sue Terrorists

In November, a delegation from 9/11 Families United For Justice Against Terrorism met with Goodlatte aide Zachary Somers. Somers acted bored and dismissive, and then said his boss objected to the legislation. When members of the group later met with Goodlatte himself, the Congressman asked one survivor, who spoke of her father’s last words, “Weren’t you compensated for that?” The survivor, an adult child of a victim, had not been paid a settlement. read more

Labor Dept. Warns against Doctor who Rejected more than 3,400 X-Ray Readings for Black Lung and Approved None

Wheeler, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, developed an impressive reputation for his medical knowledge and skills—and for consistently standing in the way of patients winning their cases against their employers. In its letter dated June 2, the Labor Department noted how the media investigation found Wheeler “had never once, in more than 3,400 X-ray readings, interpreted an X-ray as positive for complicated pneumoconiosis [or black lung].” read more

Prisoners who Serve Full Sentences and are Released without Supervision are more Likely to Return to Crime

Using New Jersey correctional statistics from 2008, the study said parolees had a rearrested rate of 51%, while max-outs were at 65%. Similarly, reconviction rates for parolees were also lower (38% vs. 55%), as was the rate for committing new crimes (25% vs. 41%) within three years of release. read more

Government Report Critical of Border Patrol Finally Released after 15 Months

The leaked report criticized agents for intentionally standing in front of speeding automobiles to justify shooting at drivers, as well as questioned the Border Patrol policy of allowing the use of deadly force against individuals who throw rocks or other objects at agents, including those who did so from across the border in Mexico. read more

Study Argues that Online Sales of Illegal Drugs Actually Reduce Violence

The researchers concluded that by eliminating in-person drug buys and conducting sales through the Web, Silk Road was more of a business-to-business operation that facilitated deals between suppliers. And because these arrangements were conducted anonymously, there was no need for late night meet-ups in abandoned warehouses, which have often turned ugly in the street world of narcotics sales. read more

The Nuclear Waste Leak in New Mexico…Maybe It Wasn’t the Kitty Litter After All

The Albuquerque Journal reported that internal LANL emails indicated the contractor that packages its waste, EnergySolutions, asked for and received approval to use new products intended to neutralize the pH balance of drum contents sent to WIPP. These changes, though, resulted in a heat reaction that breached at least one sealed container after it was buried. read more

Navy Refuses to Approve First Atheist Chaplain

Last year 38-year-old Jason Heap, applied to become the U.S. Navy’s first humanist chaplain. Heap’s credentials include a degree in ecclesiastical history from Oxford, as well as years of teaching and spiritual guidance work. The Navy, however, turned him down. The chaplain corps in the U.S. military is currently dominated by Christians, particularly evangelicals. More than 90% of chaplains represent Christianity, and half of those are from evangelical denominations. read more

Almost 10 Million Homeowners Owe more than their House is Worth

A new report by the Haas Institute at UC Berkeley reveals a third of mortgaged homes in 57 U.S. cities are still underwater, meaning more is owed on the house than it’s worth. In 151 zip codes half of all mortgaged homes are underwater. Among the nearly 400 hardest-hit ZIP codes, there are 146 in which African-Americans and Latinos account for three-quarters of the population. read more

Despite Public Opposition, Georgia Government Fights Providing Health Care to Low-Income Citizens

A strong majority of Georgia residents favor expanding Medicaid eligibility as called for under the Affordable Care Act. But Republican lawmakers have taken steps to ensure that such expansion does not happen anytime soon. Expanding Medicare would give half a million of those Georgians health care. Women in particular suffer from lack of medical care in Georgia. More women die of pregnancy-related causes in Georgia than in all but two other states. read more