Controversies
Is Secretary of Commerce Locke Too Close to Boeing and Microsoft?
Unlike other cabinet members, the Secretary of Commerce has always been expected to be on the side of business; a friend to corporate America. President Obama’s Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, is in familiar territory. Large corporations spent ... read more
TSA Official Warned Airports in Advance of Secret Security Tests
Surprise inspections aren’t much good if the surprise gets blown. That’s what happened in April 2006 when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) tried to pull off a series of security tests at 12 airports around the country. The test was... read more
VA to Review Confrontation with Reporter
A Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in Washington, DC, was the site last week of a row between a college reporter and government officials that quickly escalated into a calls-to-arm by media organizations and First Amendment advocates. ... read more
Overlooked Obama Order Limits Contractor Hiring Options
Only ten days after taking office, President Barack Obama changed the way government-hired contractors can hire employees—which may result in less outsourcing of jobs by federal offices. It sometimes happens that the federal government will replac... read more
Is a CIA Murderer Living Free in Virginia?
The Abu Ghraib scandal raised all kinds of speculation over whether U.S. personnel crossed ethical lines or even broke the law. But in the case of one CIA interrogator, the U.S. government has stated that Mark Swanner committed the worst crime of ... read more
U.S. Citizens Detained as Illegals
Comedy fans may remember the movie Born in East L.A., in which Cheech Marin plays a Mexican-American who is caught up in an immigration raid and mistakenly deported to Mexico. Unfortunately, sometimes real U.S. citizens do get detained, and the re... read more
Bush Defense Holdovers Must Sign Ethics Pledge or Leave
Approximately 250 holdovers from the Bush administration at the Defense Department had until yesterday to sign President Barack Obama’s ethics pledge, or pack their bags, according to an internal memo issued on Tuesday. In December, the incoming p... read more
Herbicide Spraying in Texas: Border Patrol vs. Locals
Residents of Laredo, Texas are objecting to a recent Border Patrol decision to spray the Rio Grande river bank with pesticides, claiming that it has echoes of the Agent Orange scandal of the Vietnam War era. Border patrol officials proposed sprayi... read more
Army Doctors Pressured to Not Diagnose PTSD
An investigation by Salon has found that the U.S. Army is pressuring doctors to not diagnose soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and brain injuries out of concerns over the cost of treating thousands of returning veterans from Iraq... read more
Condom Controversy: Alabama vs. China
Turns out “Buy American” does not apply to condoms. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has decided to end its contract with Alabama-based Alatech Healthcare Products for the condoms it distributes overseas, and instead will buy th... read more
Obama and Banks vs. Civil Rights Groups
Consumer and civil rights groups are beside themselves over a decision by the Justice Department to pick up where the Bush administration left off in defending banks accused of having racist lending practices. Later this month, President Barack Ob... read more
Hidden Facts about the Columbine Massacre
David Cullen was one of the many reporters who dashed to Littleton, Colorado, when word first got out about the shooting at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. But unlike his media counterparts, Cullen, who was then working for Salon.com, wou... read more
Air Force Chooses Runner-Up for Nuclear Command Center
An important new command, charged with keeping track of the US Air Force’s nuclear weapons, will be stationed in Louisiana, much to the chagrin of politicians in Nebraska. Barksdale Air Force Base was selected by the Air Force to host the Global S... read more
Egyptian Student Acquitted on Explosives Charge in Florida…and Rearrested
Youssef Megahed, a 23-year-old Tampa resident and citizen of Egypt, was arrested on an immigration warrant on April 6, just three days after a jury acquitted the former Florida State student of federal charges of transporting explosives and posses... read more
What Do Rocket Fuel and Baby Formula Have in Common?
A recent study by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control has found potentially dangerous levels of perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel, in powered infant formula. Exposure to perchlorate damages the thyroid and might potentially imp... read more
Army Chaplain Asks Soldiers to Fast on Jewish Feast Day
In a move that outraged Jewish members of the U.S. military, the U.S. Army’s Chief of Chaplains issued a proclamation shortly before Passover that called upon all Army personnel to participate in a “day of prayer and fasting” on the first night of... read more