Controversies
Class Action Suit Demands Cancer Warnings on Hot Dogs
Should one of America’s favorite foods be treated the same as cigarettes? Officials with the Cancer Project think so, which is why the organization is suing to force manufacturers of hot dogs to add warning labels to packages. According to the pla... read more
Federal Court Orders California to Clear Out 40,000 Prisoners
With California’s prison system at nearly 200% capacity, a panel of federal judges has ordered the state to release tens of thousands of inmates to alleviate overcrowding that was deemed cruel and unusual punishment. Nearly 43,000 prisoners may be... read more
The U.S. and its Socialist Army: Cenk Uygur
Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, offers a different perspective on the U.S. military as part of his argument for combating the constant haranguing by Republicans over how bad government is. To denigrate the government is also to denigrate the ... read more
19 Still Held at Guantánamo Despite Court Orders
Federal judges in Washington, DC, have ruled over the last year that 28 detainees at Guantanamo Bay were being unlawfully held, and ordered their release. But, according to an investigation by ProPublica, 19 of these men are still at the detention... read more
FTC Charges Kellogg with False Advertising
Frosted Mini-Wheats are not quite so nutritious after all, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which recently ruled that Kellogg Company, the world’s largest producer of cereal, had lied in its advertisements claiming the breakfast fo... read more
Census Will Include Same-Sex Marriages for First Time
Later this year when it releases the 2008 American Community Survey, the Department of Commerce will do something it never has done before: Provide data on the number of same-sex marriages in the United States. This decision represents a reversal ... read more
U.S. Protests Imprisonment of Lee and Ling in North Korea, But Holds Journalists without Charge
Former President Bill Clinton has arrived in North Korea to negotiate the release of American reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were imprisoned by the North Korean dictatorship, which accused them of illegally crossing the border. While polit... read more
Is the Government Breaking the Posse Comitatus Law?
Little by little the government has been allowing the military to participate in domestic law enforcement activities that are supposed to be banned under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. In 2002 President George W. Bush reportedly considered sendi... read more
Who’s Inside Midwest Mystery Prisons?
Federal prison officials during the Bush administration began a secretive program to segregate inmates, most of whom are Muslims, and limit their ability to communicate with the outside world. Known as Communications Management Units (CMUs), these... read more
Geeks vs. Nerds in Fight over Medicare: RJ Escrow
The recent Internet row between two of the government’s top financial analysts was a classic geeks vs. nerds contest, writes consultant, writer and analyst RJ Eskow. The showdown on the blogosphere began when Peter Orszag, director of the White Ho... read more
Obama Tries to Avoid Clash with Judiciary over Detainee Release
Described by one legal expert as possibly the “ultimate confrontation” in the courts over Guantánamo, a federal judge was poised to order the Obama administration to release a detainee when the Justice Department agreed to return him to Afghanista... read more
TVA Failed to Investigate Practices That Led to Kingston Spill
Not only did its officials ignore warnings about dam safety, but the Tennessee Valley Authority also tried to bury a study revealing the cause of the massive coal ash spill last December 22 near Knoxville. Things had deteriorated so badly at the T... read more
More U.S. Citizens Detained as Illegals
It’s bad enough when immigration officials mistakenly jail American citizens because of assumptions stemming from racial profiling, but it’s worse if they insist on keeping them detained even after they have presented a slew of evidence proving th... read more
Seed Companies Block Genetically-Modified Crop Research
It is time for agricultural biotech companies that produce genetically-modified (GM) seeds to end their restrictions on independent research, write the editors of Scientific American, one of the nation’s leading science journals. They point out th... read more
Obama Justice Dept. Wants to Keep Cheney CIA Leak Interview Secret for 5-10 Years
Continuing to argue that former Vice President Dick Cheney’s interview with prosecutors in the Valerie Plame leak case should not be publicized, the Obama administration pleaded with a federal judge last week to keep the transcript locked away for... read more
Returning Combat Vets More Likely to Die on the Highway
Accustomed to adrenaline rushing through their veins while driving at high speeds to avoid being attacked, returning war veterans are having a tough time driving “normal” once they get back to the United States. The urge to drive recklessly is so ... read more