Controversies
Obama Issues First Commutation of Sentence
Eugenia Jennings of Illinois has become the first person to receive a commutation of sentence from President Barack Obama. Jennings was convicted in 2001 of selling 13.9 grams of crack cocaine to a police informant and was sentenced to 22 years in... read more
Most States and Federal Agencies Don’t Send Mental Health Records to National Criminal Database
It’s not difficult for mentally ill individuals to get past federal gun-control barriers designed to stop these very same people from buying handguns.
The 13-year-old, FBI-run National Instant Criminal Background Check System is supposed to ... read more
State Dept. Attacks Conspiracy Theories
In addition to handling the Obama administration’s diplomatic responsibilities, the State Department is also working on debunking conspiracy theories. On its suspended website (America.gov), the agency provides a section called: “Conspiracy Theori... read more
Obama Administration Fights to Keep Cluster Bombs despite International Ban
American diplomats are lobbying for changes to the international treaty banning cluster bombs so the U.S. and other major military powers can join the protocol without actually giving up the deadly weapons. Cluster munitions are designed to burst ... read more
Vague Wording of Senate Defense Bill Called “Disaster” by Amnesty International
Human rights organizations and the Obama administration have deep concerns over language inserted into a defense authorization bill that they say would adversely impact civil liberties while handcuffing the Executive Branch’s ability to combat ter... read more
Congress Fights against Whole Grains for Schools and Vows to Keep Pizza Sauce as a Vegetable
House Republicans are on record saying that, even without Herman Cain as their presidential nominee, the way to “improve” school lunches is to keep pizza and French fries on the menu.
Opposed to new nutritional standards proposed by the Obama ... read more
Obama and USDA Secretary Vilsack Give up Protecting Livestock Producers against Meat Packers
After vowing to make significant changes, the Obama administration has given up on its own rules affecting the meat-packing industry.
Years of complaints from small- and medium-sized farmers prompted the administration to do something about an... read more
Federal Judge Rules State Laws Cannot be Used in Gulf Oil Spill Damages Cases
A federal judge has decided that Alabama and Louisiana cannot rely on state laws to recover damages for the August 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill accident. But the states may use federal statutes to collect monies from companies found responsibl... read more
L.A. Hospital Denies Liver Transplant to Medical Marijuana User Despite Prescription from Its own Doctor
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles is refusing to grant a liver transplant to a cancer patient because he used medical marijuana, which not only is legal under California law but also was prescribed by a Cedars doctor.
Diagnosed with i... read more
Court to Decide if Military Rape Victims Can Sue Defense Dept.
A federal judge in Virginia is expected this week to rule whether 28 current and former military personnel can sue the Department of Defense for not taking action to curb rape in the armed services.
Filed against former defense secretaries Rob... read more
Why is Obama Administration Spending $433 Million on Experimental Smallpox Drug When Last Case was in 1949?
There’s hasn’t been a case of smallpox in the U.S. in 62 years. But that hasn’t stopped the Obama administration from awarding a $433 million deal to a company to produce an antidote for the non-existent disease—a company whose controlling shareho... read more
Dept. of Transportation Issues First Fine against Airline for Tarmac Delay
A subsidiary of American Airlines this week became the first in the industry to be penalized by the federal government for making passengers endure lengthy delays on an airport tarmac.
The U.S. Department of Transportation fined American Eagle... read more
Gulf Toxicology Report Accuses BP and Coast Guard of Killing Birds and Threatening News Helicopter
A cleanup worker involved in last year’s BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico claims the company and the U.S. Coast Guard worked in secrecy while attempting to burn the petroleum off the ocean’s surface. Malcolm Coco, who worked for BP for three and... read more
Government Orders Audits of All Futures Trading Firms
In the wake of MF Global losing more than half a billion dollars of client money, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has decided to audit every single futures trading firm in the country.
There are currently more than 100 futures ... read more
EPA Has Long History of Releasing News on Fridays…When Public Least Likely to Pay Attention
TGIF has long conveyed the relief of not only the ordinary American worker happy that the work week is done, but also that of officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who can’t wait to bury the news.
Fridays are notorious in... read more
Most Honey Sold in U.S. Stores Isn’t Really Honey
It might look, smell and taste like it, but in most cases what’s sold in American stores is not technically honey.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, honey that does not contain pollen is not honey, officially. Often the thickly sw... read more