Saturday, February 20, 2010

Yoo Called Civilian Slaughter OK

By Jason Leopold
February 20, 2010

Former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo argued that President George W. Bush’s commander-in-chief powers were so sweeping that he could willfully order the massacre of civilians, yet Yoo’s culpability in Bush administration abuses was deemed “poor judgment,” not a violation of “professional standards.”

Read on.

Upping the Bid on American Justice

By Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
February 20, 2010

That famous definition of a cynic as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing has come to define this present moment of American politics.

Read on.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

US Media Replays Iraq Fiasco on Iran

By Robert Parry
February 18, 2010

Major U.S. news organizations, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, are engaged in a replay of the kind of slanted coverage that paved the way to war in Iraq, only this time regarding Iran.

Read on.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Free Speech v Truth in Medals

By Ivan Eland
February 16, 2010

Dozens of people have been arrested under the Stolen Valor Act, which punishes, by up to a year in jail, the wearing of any unearned military medal. It is still a crime even if no effort was made to profit from the adornment or dissembling about earning it.

Read on.

Duty to Warn: Lessons for Americans

By Gary G. Kohls
February 16, 2010

Sixty-seven years ago, on Feb. 18, 1943, three courageous, patriotic German college students from Munich, the birthplace of the Nazi party, were arrested by the Gestapo on charges of treason, a crime that was punishable by death.

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Monday, February 15, 2010

On Health Care, Dems Lack GOP Grit

By Bruce P. Cameron
February 15, 2010

Over the past quarter century when the Republicans had a priority – from funding the Nicaraguan contras to passing massive tax cuts for the wealthy – they would use whatever legislative means necessary, including bending congressional rules to get their way, a marked contrast to how today’s Democrats are handling health-care reform.

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Can a Jewish Tradition Help Christians?

By the Rev. Howard Bess
February 15, 2010

Just as I cannot allow my soul to be without worship, neither can I allow the inquiries of my mind to be denied. I have concluded that my spiritual health needs large doses of midrash just as I need regular worship.

Read on.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

NYT Sees UN-Syria Conspiracy Theory

By Robert Parry
February 15, 2010

The New York Times simply refuses to deal with “enemy” Muslim states with any sense of objectivity or fairness, reaffirming its deep-seated bias again on Sunday with the publication of a one-sided article about the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on its fifth anniversary.

Read on.

Cheney Exposes Torture Conspiracy

By Robert Parry
February 14, 2010

If the United States had a functioning criminal justice system for the powerful – not just for run-of-the-mill offenders – former Vice President Dick Cheney would have convicted himself and some of his Bush administration colleagues with his comments on ABC’s “This Week.”

Read on.