Controversies
Senate Bill Would Fine Those without Health Insurance
As part of the government’s effort to create universal health care, Americans who don’t purchase medical insurance coverage would be fined more than $1,000 under a plan currently in the U.S. Senate. Similar to laws requiring motorists to carry aut... read more
Another Lawsuit Over KBR Iraq Toxic Exposure
In addition to facing multiple class action lawsuits by U.S. soldiers over its open pit burning of garbage in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense contractor KBR Inc. is being sued by National Guardsmen from around the country for allegedly causing their... read more
Florida: More Deaths from Oxycodone than Cocaine
Despite a noticeable drop in cocaine-related overdoses, Florida law enforcement officials are not celebrating. Prescription drug abuse has now become the leading cause of drug-related overdoses, primarily from the powerful pain killer oxycodone,... read more
Fatter and Fatter
The American waistline continues to expand at an alarming rate, according to a new report, which found in 2008 not a single U.S. state reported a decline in adult obesity—while nearly half the country experienced an increase. The study, produced b... read more
Germany Set to Pardon Anti-Nazi Citizens Convicted of Treason
Germany’s governing parties came to an agreement on Wednesday on a blanket measure involving the overturning of Nazi-era rulings convicting about 30,000 individuals of desertion or treason. These convictions carried with them the death penalty and... read more
Can Automatic Registration Improve U.S. Democracy?
It is estimated that between one-quarter and one-third of all Americans eligible to vote are not registered to participate in elections—which is why the Brennan Center for Justice is calling for a radical change in the way voters are signed up. In... read more
EPA Finally Releases List of Dangerous Coal Ash Sites
Almost two weeks after Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) publicly questioned its need for secrecy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released on Monday a list of 44 coal-fired power plant waste sites in 10 states that pose a “high hazard” risk t... read more
U.S. Government Formally Apologizes for 1957 Firing of Gay Astronomer
When the federal government fired Franklin Kameny in 1957 for being a homosexual, it unknowingly launched the young astronomer into a new career as a leading gay rights activist. After losing his civilian job for the U.S. Army’s mapping service, K... read more
Racial Inequalities in Conviction and Sentencing
Even after decades of public discourse on the inequality of the criminal justice system, the United States continues to punish minorities, especially African Americans, who are arrested at rates far higher than Caucasians who are arrested. A new s... read more
Is the Electoral College Distorting Obama Policy?
In another demonstration of President Barack Obama’s preference for the tried-and-true ways of Washington, the new president has focused his domestic travel so far on those states that are likely to be battlegrounds in the 2012 election. Of the 16... read more
Supreme Court Shifts Alaska Waste Dumping to Congress
The battle is not yet over, insist environmentalists, following a decision on June 22 by the U.S. Supreme Court that allows mining companies to dump waste into lakes and waterways. The court case stemmed from efforts by Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. t... read more
Air Marshal Fired for Revealing Info Deemed “Sensitive” After He Revealed It
In a ruling that has major ramifications for government whistleblowers, an obscure federal employment review board decided this week that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was justified in firing a veteran air marshal for revealing ... read more
Rotate Regulators and Have Congress Fund Them: Richard A. Posner
There are two major flaws in the Obama administration’s plan for reorganizing the federal government’s oversight of the financial industry, according to Richard Posner, a judge on the seventh circuit court of appeals. First, the 88-page report pro... read more
EPA Pinpoints Neighborhood with Highest Cancer Risk from Air Pollution
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, any community that averages less than 100 cases of cancer for every 1 million people is doing okay. Once the rate goes above a hundred, EPA considers the situation unacceptable. Which begs the... read more
Army Bans Stars and Stripes Reporter from Covering Iraq Combat Team
Pop quiz time. Recently, the U.S. military banned a reporter from embedding with an Army unit because of his unfavorable coverage of the war in Iraq. Was the reporter from: A) New York Times; B) Washington Post; or C) Stars and Stripes? The answer... read more
Good News for Factory Farms; Bad News for Environment
Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency have said they want to require the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by large agricultural operations, or factory farms, to monitor the release of such contributors to global war... read more