Controversies
Obama Administration Allows Marijuana States’ Rights
The U.S. Department of Justice’s announcement on Monday regarding medical marijuana reversed an almost decade-long federal policy of going after pot users and distributors in states that have legalized the drug for medicinal purposes. The directiv... read more
Coal Costs U.S. $62 Billion a Year in Added Health Damages
Coal provides nearly half of the United States’ electricity — and nearly all of that industry’s “hidden costs,” according to a new study released by the National Academy of Sciences. As valuable as coal is to the nation’s energy supply, it also pr... read more
Arkansas Leads Nation in Multiple Divorces
In Arkansas and Oklahoma the belief seems to be when it comes to marriage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again.” These two states lead the country in the highest number per capita of thrice-married men and women (10% for Arkansa... read more
New Oklahoma Law Requires Web Posting of Personal Details of Women Who Have Abortions
As of November 1, women in Oklahoma who have an abortion will have to provide detailed information about themselves and their operation which will then be posted on a public website. The Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act is being challenged b... read more
Moody’s Punished Analysts Who Warned of Housing Market Collapse
The reckless greed that helped bring on the financial collapse of the housing market was aided by the once-conservative bond rating house of Moody’s, an investigation by McClatchy Newspapers found. In late 2007, Moody’s fired analysts and executiv... read more
Obama Slow to Appoint Judges
During his first nine months in office in 2001, President George W. Bush had nominated 95 judges to the federal bench. President Barack Obama? Just 23. And only three of these have been confirmed by the Senate…including Supreme Court Justice Sonia... read more
Miami-Dade Considers Ending Enforcement of Minor Crimes
With local government budgets getting squeezed tighter and tighter, officials in Miami-Dade County, Florida, are considering whether to decriminalize minor offenses that often are dismissed by the courts. A total of 18 minor infractions are curren... read more
Delta Airlines Accused of Hacking Passenger Rights Group
A consumer advocate is suing Delta Air Lines for allegedly hacking computer information she was compiling to win passage of an Airline Passenger Bill of Rights in Congress. Kathleen Hanni, founder of Flyersrights.org, says the computer infiltratio... read more
Louisiana Justice of the Peace Refuses to Marry Interracial Couple
Despite the presence of a mixed-race president in the White House, Keith Bardwell believes interracial marriages are a bad idea because of how children from such unions can be mistreated by society. So the justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Paris... read more
Reporters Forbidden from Photographing Dead Soldiers in Eastern Afghanistan
The U.S. military has been banning media traveling with soldiers in eastern Afghanistan from taking photos or video of American soldiers killed in action. The change in policy was quietly implemented in early September following the controversial ... read more
Judge Closes Blackwater Manslaughter Hearings to Press and Public
In the name of granting the defendants a fair trial, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina decided on Wednesday to close the pretrial hearings of five Blackwater guards involved in a Baghdad shooting in 2007 that left 14 Iraqis dead. Urbina said he w... read more
Congress Moves to Censor Torture Photos by Ceding Power to Executive Branch
President Barack Obama’s pledge to keep hidden photos of detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan is moving closer to becoming law. Administration officials recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to postpone weighing in on the matter in the hope that... read more
Max Baucus, the Senator from Wellpoint
Conducting the nation’s business on Capitol Hill involves more than just the members of Congress. Behind every senator and representative are staffers upon whom lawmakers rely heavily to make decisions on important issues, such health care reform.... read more
Obama Justice Department to Review Bush Policy Opposing Post-Conviction DNA Testing
Federal prosecutors during the Bush administration sometimes required defendants to waive their right to DNA testing as part of a guilty plea. Justice Department officials at that time argued there was no point allowing those who had confessed to ... read more
Alarming Death Rate at VA Hospital in Kentucky
A recent survey of intensive care unit workers at the VA hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, found that more than 60% of them would not want to be a patient in their own ward. This comes as no surprise given the poor level of care veterans have recei... read more
EPA, Reversing Bush, to Study Dangers of Weed-Killer Used on Corn and Lawns
For years during the Bush administration, and even into this summer, officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had insisted the weed-killer atrazine was not a danger to the public or environment. But in the wake of articles published... read more