The DC-insider storyline about this being a great year for the Republican establishment might need to be rewritten. And the rewrite might even require pundits, Republican chieftains and Democrats who are trying to figure out the politics of 2014 to consider complexities they had not previously entertained.

House majority leader Eric Cantor, the face of the GOP establi ... Read more »

The U.S. “war on terror” has increased terrorism.

Here are the number of terror attacks in Iraq between 1979 and 2011 courtesy of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism ... Read more »

In recent weeks, both House and Senate Appropriations Committees advanced 2015 Agriculture appropriations bills, taking the opportunity to meddle counterproductively in USDA child nutrition policies. Most visibly, the House version of the bill weakens the current science-based nutrition standards for both school meals and WIC — permitting schools to opt-out of the meal standards enacted in 2010, and allowing white potatoes in the WIC package. First Lady Michelle Obama is a leading champion of the current standards, and recently expressed her dismay with the Ho ... Read more »

“Buying Up America”: The Individual Wealth of US Billionaires

A quaint comparison of what money can buy in today’s market has Bill Gates being able to afford every home in Boston. His $76.6 billion reported by the Washington Post or the $78.4 billion by Forbes seems a pittance when put up against  ... Read more »

Al Gore: Snowden Revealed Crimes 'Way More Serious' Than Any He Committed

Former vice president says NSA overreach poses "a threat to democracy."

Former Vice President Al Gore, who on Tuesday said Edward Snowden performed
"an important service." (Photo: Environmental Defence Canada/cc/flickr)

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore on Tuesday said that Edward Snowden's revelations showed the NSA's "threat to democracy& ... Read more »

Too Big To Comply? NSA Says It’s Too Large, Complex to Comply With Court Order

The crucial question is this: If the NSA does not have to keep evidence of its spying activities,
how can a court ever test whether it is in fact complying with the Constitution? (Credit: Public domain)

In an era of too-big-to-fail banks, we should have known it was coming: An intelligence agency too big to rein in — and brazen enough to say so.

In a remarkable legal ... Read more »

Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, speaks during the annual press conference of the non-governmental organization in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. (Credit: AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

Let’s pretend that we want to start an organization to defend the rights of people across the globe that has no affiliation to any government or corporate interest. Which of the following characters should we therefore exclude from intimate roles in our organization’s operation? (You may choose more than one answer.) 

1. An individual who presided over a NATO bombing, including various civilian targets.
2. An indi ... Read more »
   

Capitalism vs. education: Why our free-market obsession is wrecking the future

Market-based education reform has become a mainstay of American politics — and it's a disaster waiting to happen

The 2014 State of the Union address was billed as the speech in which President Obama would finally reveal himself as the progressive champion we’d been promised. In the weeks prior, senior administration officials leaked word that the president would use his platform to declare inc ... Read more »

The Way to Stop Corporate Lawbreaking is to Prosecute the People Who Break the Law

^{General Motors CEO Mary Barra addresses employees at the automaker's vehicle engineering center in Warren, Michigan on Thursday, June 5, 2014. Barra said 15 employees have been fired and five others have been disciplined over the company's failure to disclose a defect with ignition switches that is now linked to at least 13 deaths. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)}

Today General Motors announced that it has fired 15 employees and disciplined five others in th ... Read more »

The real Bergdahl scandal: What about the other Gitmo detainees?

Prisoner swap proves Guantanamo detainees can easily be released. So why on earth are they still imprisoned?

Last week’s highly publicized prisoner exchange conducted by the Obama Administration suggests that, despite years of inaction, it is entirely possible to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.  On Friday, the White House announced that it ... Read more »