Controversies
Legalize the Selling of Bone Marrow: Steve Chapman
It is for good reason that there are laws on the books preventing people from buying and selling organs in the United States, writes Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune. But concerns about ghoulish markets developing around dying patients should ... read more
Federal Court Rules “In God We Trust” and “Under God” are Not Religious Expressions
It’s okay to use the expressions “In God We Trust” on American currency and “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, according to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court rejected arguments by attorney and atheist Michael Newdow, wh... read more
German Intelligence Agency Fights to Keep Nazi Files Secret after 50 Years
What does Germany have to hide by keeping secret the files on one of the Nazis’ most notorious leaders? Possibly details about how the Germans and other Europeans helped Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann flee the country after the end of World Wa... read more
Rising Seed Prices Pressure Farmers, Draw Attention of Obama Administration
The Justice Department is investigating Monsanto, the agricultural biotechnology company that dominates much of the seed market, to see if it has violated federal antitrust laws. Enormous jumps in the cost of seeds prompted Justice officials to be... read more
Federal IT Purchasers Win Worst Open Government Award for Not Saving E-Mails
The Chief Information Officers Council, tasked with bolstering the federal government’s IT needs, does a lousy job of preserving emails for federal offices, according to the National Security Archive at George Washington University. The governmen... read more
33 Government Auto Regulators Now Work for Auto Industry
The auto industry has benefited mightily from hiring almost three dozen former government officials whose jobs were to regulate car manufacturers. An investigation by The Washington Post revealed that 33 ex-employees of the National Highway Traffi... read more
Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water Investigation Heats Up
Congress and a federal anti-toxics office are continuing to investigate the controversy of contaminated water at the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where numerous military and civilian personnel have contracted various forms of... read more
Pfizer CEO Gets 12.5% Raise for Successful Lobbying
As head of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler has lobbied long and hard on behalf of his corporation, and been handsomely rewarded for his efforts. Kindler earned a 12.5% pay increase, elevating his salary to $1.8... read more
Jury Orders Hog Farm to Pay Locals $11 Million for Foul Odors
If at first you don’t succeed, sue, sue again. That’s what residents of Gentry County, Missouri, did after owners of a hog farm failed to do anything to mitigate the terrible odor emanating from their property. In 1999, a group of 52 plaintiffs,... read more
16 Midwest Cities Sue Maker of Weed-Killer Found in Tap Water
Switzerland-based agribusiness Syngenta AG is being sued by 16 American cities and one county water district over the contamination of water supplies by the weed-killer atrazine. The chemical, sprayed on corn fields in the Midwest, has found its w... read more
House Ethics Probe Avoided Interviewing Members of Congress in PMA Case
Following the Department of Justice’s November 2008 raid of the Washington lobbying firm, the PMA Group, the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) investigated accusations that several lawmakers accepted campaign contributions in exchan... read more
New York City Police Accused of Arrest Quotas and Doctoring Figures
Two separate media sources have turned up accusations of New York City police using quotas to make arrests or manipulating records to show crime has gone down. WABC-TV interviewed police officer Adil Polanco, who said precinct commanders have pres... read more
Online Security Questions Need Improving
From banks to email programs, website developers need to create more complex security questions so users avoid the danger of identity theft. Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh found that current schemes used... read more
DC First City to Distribute Free Female Condoms
With HIV/AIDS infections reaching epidemic proportions, the District of Columbia has become the first city in the United States to distribute female condoms. The city plans to make 500,000 available in beauty salons, convenience stores and high sc... read more
Veterans’ Courts May Go National
In recent years there has been a growing movement to grant veterans special treatment within the American legal system. In January 2008 this resulted in the first veterans' court in Buffalo, NY. Since then, 22 other cities and counties have also b... read more
U.S. Government to Experiment with New Definition of Poverty
For five decades the federal government has stuck with the same definition for what constitutes poverty. But the Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama has decided to use a new set of variables to compliment the existing method that d... read more