Controversies
“Chemicals of Concern” List Still on Hold after 21 Months of Chemical Industry Lobbying
A 90-day White House review of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) list of possibly toxic “chemicals of concern” has now taken 640 days with no end in sight. Although EPA administrator Lisa Jackson considers the list an important part of her ... read more
BP Wins Exclusion of Prior Felony Violations from Oil Spill Trial
Oil giant BP, owner of the “Deepwater Horizon” oil platform that exploded April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and spewing 4.9 million barrels (205.8 million gallons) of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, won a major legal battle heading into the tr... read more
Why are Americans Arrested for Videotaping Police in Public Places?
Recording police officers while making arrests has resulted in numerous other arrests … of those daring to tape such actions.
In October 2007 attorney Simon Glik was arrested by Boston police after he used his cell phone to capture the arrest ... read more
Judge Blasts Solicitor General for Misleading Supreme Court on Improperly Deported Immigrants
Federal Judge Jed Rakoff has taken the Office of the Solicitor General to task for misleading the U.S. Supreme Court about recourse for wrongly deported immigrants.
“When the Solicitor General of the United States makes a representation to the... read more
The Strange Case of the Clint Eastwood-Chrysler Ad…Both Left and Right Protest
Critics on both the left and the right are bashing Chrysler’s Clint Eastwood-starring “Halftime in America” advertisement that appeared during last Sunday’s Super Bowl telecast.
Liberals were upset by the commercial because it used doctored fo... read more
Whole Foods Accused of Accepting Genetically Modified Foods
Whole Foods Market and other organic retailers are being accused of caving in to manufacturers of genetically modified (GM) crops and helping them legitimize their products with consumers. The products are also known as GMOs or genetically-modifie... read more
U.S. Postal Service Ranked Best among Wealthy Nations
Maligned by American citizens and politicians, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is still the best of its kind in the Western world.
A review of postal service providers by Oxford Strategy Consulting resulted in the USPS getting the top ranking a... read more
North Carolina Town Plagued by Crimes by War Veterans
The city of Fayetteville, North Carolina, home to the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg, has suffered through a series of violent incidents perpetrated by soldiers who have returned home from war.
Many of the 14,000 soldiers stationed at the base suffer ... read more
Arrival of Domestic Drones Challenges Air Safety
Organizations representing commercial pilots have expressed serious concerns about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision allowing drones to operate in the same airspace as airliners.
The FAA is preparing regulations to permit bu... read more
Future Warfare…Automated Planes and Bullets that Change Course
It may not be long before human control, and accountability, of warfare and its destructive outcomes are entirely ambiguous.
Military planners are already testing the newest model in unmanned aircrafts, the X-47B. Unlike other drones that req... read more
Sierra Club Took $26 Million from Natural Gas Industry
The Sierra Club—at 120 years old one of the oldest and most trusted environmental groups in the U.S.—has admitted that from 2007 to 2010 it accepted donations totaling $25 million from the natural gas industry, mostly from Aubrey McClendon, CEO of... read more
Texas Forces Disclosure of Fracking Water Use
Texas has become the latest state to require companies to disclose the types of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”).
Adopted by the state legislature last year, the new rule has been heralded by environmentalists and industry a... read more
Drunken Colorado Legislator Avoids DUI because of Alleged Legislative Immunity
At first it seemed like just another example of a politician acting badly. At about 10 p.m. on January 25, Colorado State Representative Laura Bradford (R-Collbran) was pulled over for making an illegal turn at an intersection. The officer smelled... read more
New Scientific Views Challenge Past Arson Convictions
Advances in forensics, commonly used for years now involving DNA evidence, are now expanding into the area of arson. This scientific development could give certain criminals convicted of starting fires new grounds to challenge their sentences.
... read more
Michigan School Suspends Cancer Survivor for Growing Hair to Donate
High school student and cancer survivor J.T. Gaskins of Grand Blanc, Michigan, was suspended by school officials at the Madison Academy on January 23 for having long hair.
What makes this story news is that Gaskins, who fought leukemia until... read more
Bipartisan Coalition in Congress Proposes Handing Line-Item Veto to President
Republican and Democratic budget leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are proposing to give the president line-item veto power, something that’s been discussed, and tried, in the past. According to current law, if the president of the Unit... read more