The state of Mississippi, which ranks last in just about everything, is about to be first in something. And that something is almost as bizarre as who’s making it happen. The “what” of this story: Starting with the 2011-2012 school curriculum, civil rights will be a required course for all Mississippi students from kindergarten to [...]
With just two weeks to go before the ninth anniversary of the opening of the “War on Terror” prison at Guantánamo, almost everyone in a position of authority in the US has failed to resolve, in a satisfactory manner, the bitter legacy left by the Bush administration. In fact, to judge by two recent developments, [...]
Not since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has the fear and loathing of Muslims been as virulent, as widespread among Americans, and as close to morphing from hateful rhetoric into life-threatening violence. It was against that background that TPR correspondent William Fisher sat down to discuss these key issues with Alejandro J. Beutel, [...]
Here’s a brief summation of my recent reporting: If we continue to let our politicians and wealthy members of society live in comfort, free from the consequences of their actions, we are complicit in our own demise. Our country is so overrun with corruption, we cannot remain passive and expect things to get any better. [...]
On December 22, during a largely self-congratulatory news conference by President Obama, dealing with a number of achievements notched up in the last session before the Democrats lose control of the House of Representatives (including the new START treaty, on arms control, and the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell”), one of the administration’s conspicuous [...]
It is troubling to see that hysteria about WikiLeaks has overtaken both our executive and our legislative branches of government, plus a portion of the gullible citizenry, sufficient that politicians are now opining at full voice, in paroxysms of ignorance and self-importance, shamelessly indulging in trying to prejudice our view of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. Both the [...]
Jason Leopold, TPR’s editor-at-large and currently deputy managing editor at Truthout, and psychologist and blogger Jeffrey Kaye discuss their groundbreaking report about a little-known directive issued by Paul Wolfowitz in March 2002 that paved loosened rules on human subject protections and how this document was used during the “war on terror.” Their discussion took place [...]
How messed up is American politics? Well, here are a few clues. Two weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed a $1.1 trillion continuing resolution, which funds the government through to September 30 next year. As The Hill explained, the resolution was needed “because Congress failed to pass any of the 12 regular appropriations bills [...]
The White House is preparing an Executive Order on indefinite detention that will provide periodic reviews of evidence against dozens of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, according to several administration officials.
Clinical depression. Bipolar disorders. Eye surgery. Type 2 diabetes. Hypertension. Abscessed and broken teeth. Severe chest pains. Cancer-like pain. These are some of the untreated health complaints from men and women held in detention at the behest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the San Diego Correctional Facility (SDCF), where lack of medical [...]
