Up Against the Wall

The Torture Debate - The Missing Voices

Seeded on Thu May 7, 2009 2:40 PM EDT (The New York Times)

Those voices remain muffled by a combination of Bush-era resistance to a reasonable Freedom of Information Act request by the American Civil Liberties Union, and the gag order imposed on lawyers representing Guantánamo detainees.

us-news

Dearth of Women in Top Executive Ranks is Bad for Bottom Line

Seeded on Mon Mar 23, 2009 5:48 AM EDT (news.columbia.edu)

As of 2006, less than a third of the nation's largest 1,500 public firms counted at least one woman on their senior management team, according to Standard & Poor's.

business

Matthews Extends Contract at MSNBC

Seeded on Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:14 PM EDT (The New York Times)

Mr. Matthews said, "That microphone is more potent than any legislative position."

us-news, msnbc, chris-matthews

Same-Sex Marriage Recognized in the Dictionary

Seeded on Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:22 AM EDT (gomag.com)

Springfield, Massachusetts-based dictionary company Merriam-Webster now includes a second definition of "marriage" to include same-sex marriages.

gay-marriage, gay-rights, us-news, lgbt

Proposition 8: Starr argues that any right can be taken away

Seeded on Thu Mar 5, 2009 3:23 PM EST (The L.A. Times)

Starr argues that voters have an inalienable right to amend the state constitution as they see fit.

human-rights, constitution, gay-marriage, civil-rights, california, gay-rights, world-news, equality, lgbt, constitutional-rights

189

Top Ten Earmarks for Progressive Liberal Lefties

Seeded on Sun Mar 1, 2009 2:04 PM EST (The Huffington Post)

200,000 dollars to off Rush.

evolution, oxycontin, politics, republicans, god, paul-wolfowitz, rod-blagojevich, oliver-stone, whole-foods, comedy

Israel has lost its status as a country under threat

Seeded on Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:48 PM EST (haaretz.com)

Israel has been serving as the town crier, keeping the authorities alert. But Israel cannot keep up for much longer the role of managing the global coalition against Iran.

israel, iran, gaza-strip, world-news, weapons-of-mass-destruction, nuclear-weapons-program, nuclear-policy, operation-cast-lead, gaza-war

138

Obama administration keeps Bush view on Afghanistan detainees

Seeded on Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:56 AM EST (CNN)

The Obama administration told a federal court late Friday it will maintain the Bush administration's position that battlefield detainees held without charges by the United States in Afghanistan are not entitled to constitutional rights to challenge their detention.

human-rights, afghanistan, constitution, terrorism, international-law, change, supreme-court, guantanamo-bay, justice-department, enemy-combatant

Greenspan's Hidden Agenda

Seeded on Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:50 PM EST (thedailybeast.com)

The former Fed chief's plug for nationalizing banks is vertigo-inducing. It's also a conflict of interest—and a sign of just how far he has fallen.

us-news

One Side to Every Story - Down With Bipartisanship

Seeded on Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:52 AM EST (The New York Times)

"THIS is not a time for partisanship," declared Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, when he accepted President Obama's invitation to serve as commerce secretary. By last week, Mr.

politics, bipartisanship, president-obama

So Many Laws, So Little Time

Seeded on Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:29 AM EST (thedailybeast.com)

We have become a culture of rule followers, driven to frame every solution in terms of existing law or possible legal risk.

law, culture, us-news

Obama Gains G.O.P. Support From Governors

Seeded on Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:17 AM EST (The New York Times)

President Obama must wish governors could vote in Congress: While just three of the 219 Republican lawmakers backed the $787 billion economic recovery plan that he is signing into law on Tuesday, that trifling total would have been several times greater if support among the 22 Re …

congress, senate, politics, gop, house, republican-party, conservatism, national-governors-association, bipartisanship, pragmatism

A Modest Proposal: The President's Salary

Seeded on Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:49 PM EST ()

If the stimulus package turns out to be a big flop, why not cut Obama's $400K salary and take away other privileges—like his weekends at Camp David?

wall-street, government, us-news, executive-pay, salary-cap, public-sector, private-sector, president-obama, pay-cap

Octuplets mom's publicist calls it quits

Seeded on Sun Feb 15, 2009 9:54 AM EST (msnbc.com)

The public relations group that represented octuplets mother Nadya Suleman is stepping down because of death threats, its president said Saturday.

us-news, child-care, medical-ethics, ivf, in-vitro-fertilization, octuplets, nadya-suleman

Soldier suicides outnumber combat deaths

Seeded on Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:06 AM EST (Raw Story)

Seeded by Ahmar Mustikhan (Clipped by Jenny-G)

The illegal and unjust war in Iraq and even the just war in Afghanistan is still taking a heavy toll, in more than one ways: those who committed suicide outnumbered combat deaths.

iraq, oil, afghanistan, middle-east, gulf, suicides, persian-gulf, world-news, vets, arabian-gulf

In Defense of Wasteful Spending

Seeded on Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:16 PM EST (TNR's The Worst Political Sex Writing The New Republic)

Republicans like to accuse Democrats of wasting taxpayer dollars and being condescending eggheads.

economy, gop, republican-party, democratic-party, us-news, ideology, partisan, political-economy, macroeconomics, stimulus

The GOP Has Declared War On Obama

Seeded on Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:19 PM EST (The Daily Dish)

This much is now clear. Their clear and open intent is to do all they can, however they can, to sabotage the new administration (and the economy to boot). They want failure. Even now. Even after the last eight years.

congress, politics, gop, republican-party, sabotage, partisan, president-obama, obama-administration

109

485

BREAKING: Gregg withdraws from consideration for Commerce post

Seeded on Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:27 PM EST (CNN)

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire released a statement Thursday withdrawing from consideration to be President Obama's Commerce Secretary.

senate, politics, gop, cabinet, judd-gregg, republican-party, confirmation-hearings, obama-cabinet, president-obama

Sports Illustrated Raises The Bar... Rafaeli

Seeded on Thu Feb 12, 2009 8:50 AM EST (ow.ly)

Move over, Tzipi Livni. Another prominent Israeli woman is getting a fair bit of international exposure this week. As Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition 2009 hit newsstand on Monday, Israel's image across the world became a whole lot sexier.

fashion, sports-illustrated-swimsuit-edition, bar-rafaeli

Late-night comedy shows make fun of Pres. Obama

Seeded on Thu Feb 12, 2009 5:58 AM EST (The L.A. Times)

The Barack Obama. The One who's president right now? President Barack Obama jokes on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show"?

jon-stewart, jay-leno, comedy-central, us-news, mainstream-media, disillusionment, late-night-tv, political-comedy, president-obama

Abbas urges world to isolate Likud like it does Hamas

Seeded on Thu Feb 12, 2009 5:36 AM EST (haaretz.com)

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas has conducted an international campaign in recent weeks aimed at the diplomatic isolation of a right-wing government headed by Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu.

israel, hamas, terrorism, corruption, diplomacy, gaza, resistance, west-bank, palestinian-authority, world-news

Leahy Knocks Cheney: "I Don't Need Any Lectures From Him"

Seeded on Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:47 PM EST (The Huffington Post)

Senator Patrick Leahy and Dick Cheney have a legendarily icy relationship, one that crested with the former Vice President telling the Judiciary Committee Chairman "go @!$%# yourself" on the Senate floor.

iraq, terrorism, incompetence, us-news, dick-cheney, 9-11, shock-and-awe, senator-patrick-leahy

Really? - The Claim: Never Blow Your Nose When You Have a Cold

Seeded on Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:53 AM EST (The New York Times)

Counterintuitive, perhaps, but research shows it to be true.

health

Impressed Me Not: On Obama's First Press Conference

Seeded on Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:36 PM EST (TNR's The Worst Political Sex Writing The New Republic)

Through most of his inaugural primetime press conference, Barack Obama seemed like he was channeling a particularly loquacious combination of Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and the ghost of Hubert Humphrey.

white-house, politics, communication-skills, east-room, president-obama, obama-press-conference