Top Stories
Obama Uses New Tactic to Ignore Laws
Like those who served before him in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama intends to disregard certain parts of new laws adopted by Congress—only in a quieter and less transparent manner. In the first half of 2009, Obama issued several “signing ... read more
AIG Beats Out United Airlines as Most Hated Company in U.S.
Imagine this question on the game show Family Feud: Corporations Americans Hate Most. Answer: AIG.
This conclusion was reached by the website 24/7 Wall St.com, which examined hundreds of companies using data based on employee impressions, retu... read more
Family Homeless Up; Chronic Homeless Down
Despite two years of recession, cities throughout the United States are reporting progress in getting chronic homeless individuals off the streets. The United States Conference of Mayors, which conducts an annual survey on homelessness, has repo... read more
Job Satisfaction in U.S. at Record Low
Americans are not a happy lot when it comes to their jobs. Only 45% of those surveyed say they are satisfied with their work, the lowest level ever recorded in the 22 years of polling by The Conference Board. Last year, the figure was 49%, whereas... read more
U.S. Losing Century-Old Businesses
The United States lost 45,000 businesses in 2009, including some that had been around for more than 100 years. CNNMoney.com featured a half dozen of the centurys-old companies that went under last year.
Holcomb’s Education Resource of Clevelan... read more
Thousands of Risky Chemicals Used Commercially are Kept Secret by Law
Approximately 17,000 different chemicals used by private industry in the United States are kept secret, leaving the public and most government officials in the dark about the physical properties and potential dangers posed to Americans. This situa... read more
Did Bush Justice Dept. Purposely Sabotage Blackwater Massacre Case?
Iraqis were stunned to learn last week that charges against five Blackwater guards accused of the September 16, 2007, killing of 17 civilians and wounding of 20 have been dropped completely.
The federal government’s mishandling of the Blackwat... read more
Law Enforcement Deaths Hit 50-Year Low
The decade closed out with mixed results for police officers killed in the line of duty. The good news for 2009 was a 7% drop from the previous year in law enforcement deaths, with a total of 124 reported. That figured represented the lowest numbe... read more
U.S. Mining Deaths Hit All-Time Low
Since 2006-2007, when several high-profile accidents captured national attention, mining-related deaths have dropped in each of the last two years, down to the lowest levels ever recorded. Thirty-four miners died on the job last year, and 52 in 20... read more
House Bill Authorizes $4 Trillion for Next Bailout, but Tells Congress to Shut Up
Legislation intended to reform Wall Street and protect consumers is currently waddling along in the House of Representatives, moving as best a 1,200-page document can. Bloomberg columnist David Reilly decided to read all of HR 4173 (the “Wall Stre... read more
Role Reversal: McCain Supports Return of Glass-Steagall, Obama Opposes
According to his own campaign manager, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) lost the 2008 presidential contest because he was on the wrong side of the Wall Street debacle, siding with the pro-business philosophies that helped create the mess. Now, the ... read more
98,000 U.S. Disabled Workers Earn Less than $1 an Hour
Federal law permits businesses to pay employees who are mentally retarded pennies an hour, a reality that has sparked a new debate at care homes in Iowa. An investigation by the Des Moines Register discovered that more than 300 mentally disabled p... read more
It’s Not Easy Being a Gay Republican
GOProud is just that. The group, consisting of conservative homosexuals who broke away from the Log Cabin Republicans a few years ago because it was deemed too liberal, decided to co-sponsor The American Conservative Union’s annual Conservative Po... read more
Public Hearings on Financial Crisis…At Last
Six months since its creation and 16 months after the beginning of the current economic meltdown, a special commission charged with investigating the causes of the Wall Street collapse finally will begin holding public hearings next month. The Fin... read more
Arab Dictatorships Take 4 of Top 5 Spots in Purchase of U.S. Weapons and Services
Most of the leading buyers of American military hardware in 2008 had two characteristics in common: they speak Arabic and their governments are opposed to democracy and basic freedoms. Information compiled by the Congressional Research Service rev... read more
Goldman Sachs and Others Investigated for Betting Against Securities They Created
Betting against their own securities has prompted numerous investigations of Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street institutions. Prior to the financial collapse, Goldman and others figured out a way to package risky securities, such as subprime mort... read more