Controversies
Contractors Outnumber Employees at Department of Homeland Security
More than half of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is made up of private contractors, a revelation that produced shock among the Senate committee that oversees the agency. Of the 388,000 people working for DHS, over 200,000 are private wo... read more
House Democrats Complain that Senate Democrats are Stalling 290 Bills
For once it’s not just Republicans accused of being obstructionists. Democrats in the House are fed up with their counterparts in the Senate as much as the GOP over the fact that nearly 300 bills are stalled in the upper house. While House Speaker... read more
Toyota Acceleration Doubts May Give Hope to Man Imprisoned for Killing 3 in Car Crash
What’s been a nightmare for Toyota executives might prove to be freedom for Koua Fong Lee. The Hmong refugee from Laos was living in Minnesota in June 2006 and returning from church with his pregnant wife, his small child and other members of his ... read more
Most Medical Residency Programs Accept Drug Company Support
A strong majority of those running specialized medical residency programs that train new doctors think it’s a bad idea to cut deals with the pharmaceutical industry. But many of these very same administrators do so anyway because they can’t bring ... read more
Muslim Group Calls on Government to Label IRS Building Plane Attack an Act of Terrorism
Had the person who crashed a small plane into the IRS office in Austin, Texas, been a Muslim, the incident would have been labeled a terrorist act, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. As such, the organization’s executive direc... read more
Registering Animal Abusers
California may yet again become the first in the nation to set political precedence, this time by treating animal abusers in a similar manner as sex offenders. Legislation introduced in the State Senate would require anyone convicted of a felony i... read more
White House Delayed Regulation of Controversial Chemical after Meeting with Lobbyists
Lisa Jackson, the Obama administration’s top environmental official, has made it clear she thinks bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical used to make plastic products, is a dangerous threat to the public. And yet after chemical industry lobbyis... read more
94-Year Ban on Guns in National Parks Ends on Monday
Handguns, rifles, shotguns, even semi-automatic weapons will be allowed in national parks as of February 22, as long as visitors are compliant with state law and other rules. The change has sparked concerns among current and former employees of th... read more
Bank of America Sued over Unsolicited “Privacy Assist” Monthly Charges
Customers of Bank of America are claiming the bank charges $8.99 a month for identity-theft protection and credit monitoring without authorization. Lead plaintiff Steven Chavez says in his class action lawsuit that BofA hit him with monthly costs ... read more
Utah State Senator Wants to Add Gunmaker to Martin Luther King Holiday
Utah State Senator Mark Madsen (R) doesn’t see anything wrong with his idea to honor John Browning, a pioneer in firearms manufacturing, on the same day celebrating Martin Luther King Jr., who was gunned down by an assassin. Madsen and his support... read more
Department of Homeland Security Loses Guns and Rifles
Taking the secure out of security, federal officers working for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lost 289 firearms over a three-year period. An investigation by DHS’ inspector general found that 243 of those firearms were lost by two agen... read more
Education…Let Parents Choose: John Stossel
Leaving education in the hands of the government has resulted in rising costs and flat-lining tests scores, notes Fox News television correspondent John Stossel, who wants to give parents the choice of sending their kids to private schools.
He... read more
School District Accused of Using Laptops to Spy on Students at Home
School officials in Pennsylvania are being sued by parents for spying on their children through the use of laptops equipped with webcams. The Lower Merion School District issued the computers to 1,800 high school students so they would have “24/7 ... read more
What’s in a Word? “Gays” in the Military are Okay, but Not “Homosexuals”
Americans are becoming more comfortable with the idea of non-heterosexuals serving openly in the military—you just have to watch your language. A new poll conducted by The New York Times and CBS News found that 58% of respondents favor a plan to p... read more
Million-Dollar Lobbying Jobs Tempt Retiring Lawmakers
Leaving Congress is not a risky proposition for senators and representatives looking for new work. The experience, knowledge and political connections that lawmakers acquire while serving in office can lead to high-paid lobbying jobs in Washington... read more
Agency in Charge of Religious Freedom Accused of Religious Bias
Instead of advocating for religious tolerance throughout the world, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has been caught up in the personal agendas of its leaders and accused of discriminating against Muslim employees.
The Eq... read more