On Guantanamo, Lawmakers Prove They Are Still Dick Cheney’s Pawns

I like to believe that, despite studying Guantánamo for four years, I still have a sense of humor, but last Thursday I lost it, after 258 members of the House of Representatives (including 88 members of President Obama’s own party) voted for an idiotic, paranoid and unjust motion proposed by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ken.), which was designed to “Prohibit the transfer of GITMO prisoners, period” (those were his exact words).

It’s Congress: Don’t Forget to Wash Your Hands After Hearings

I’m reminded of this incident by the recent efforts in Congress to produce a health care reform bill—especially of the efforts in Sen. Max Baucus’s Senate Finance Committee, which yesterday, after weeks of allegedly painful negotiating among the so-called Gang of Six and several weeks more of discussions among members of the whole committee, produced a bill that essentially leaves us with the status quo, except with some rather smelly additions.

Guantanamo Envoy: U.S. Should Have Taken Cleared Prisoners

In an interview for Radio 4’s Today program, which was partly filmed and televised on BBC News, Fried gave Jon Manel a largely spin-free account of the problems he faces, some of which have been exacerbated by the US government’s unwillingness — or inability — to resettle some cleared prisoners on the US mainland.

Watchdog Group Releases List Of ‘Most Corrupt’ Members Of Congress

Democrats dominate a government watchdog group’s annual list of the most corrupt members of Congress. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said it’s list of the Most Corrupt Members of Congress provides a detailed analysis of the unethical and sometimes illegal activities of 15 congressmen and women who have most egregiously betrayed the public’s trust.

Rep. Joe ‘You Lie’ Wilson Still Insists Healthcare Bill Would Cover ‘Illegal Aliens’

Labor Day: The Unknown Holiday

It’s Labor Day, and that means millions of Americans are celebrating. Most Americans have no idea what Labor Day is, other than self-serving political speeches, hot dogs, burgers, a pool party, and the last day of a three-day holiday. Few even know that Labor Day exists to allow people to remember and honor the struggles for respect, dignity, and acceptable wages and working conditions for the rank-and-file employees.

‘My Fellow Americans…’ The Address Obama Should Give to Congress Next Week

My Fellow Americans. I stand before you a chastened president. I made a mistake. Two mistakes really. I thought that Congress could do its job and through the deliberative process, produce a health care reform plan that would win broad support across the aisle and among all of you. But I’m afraid that I was wrong.

DHS Admits It Failed to Disclose 11 More Deaths at Immigration Facilities

In response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed yesterday that the government had failed to disclose 11 more deaths in immigration detention facilities. In April, DHS officials released what they called a comprehensive list of all deaths in detention. That list included [...]

Energy Industry Sways Congress With Misleading Data

The two key arguments that the oil and gas industry is using to fight federal regulation of the natural gas drilling process called hydraulic fracturing — that the costs would cripple their business and that state regulations are already strong — are challenged by the same data and reports the industry is using to bolster its position.

Panetta’s Pathetic Attempt to Get Lawmakers to Ignore CIA Crimes

The ideological partnership between the Washington Post and the Central Intelligence Agency is becoming despicable.  For the past several weeks, the Post has carried a series of editorial and op-eds that were designed to prevent the release of the Justice Department memoranda that permitted the use of CIA torture and abuse and to prevent any [...]