TruthOut
Dave Lindorff | Investors Are a Wacky Bunch, and the Financial Press is Largely a Shill Game
One of the great mantras of the modern economics profession is that markets know best, and that the collective "wisdom" of investors is generally correct.
Davis Case Reignites Death Penalty Debate
A federal judge in Georgia upheld the murder conviction of death row inmate Troy Davis last week, following a special evidentiary hearing that was ordered by the US Supreme Court to determine whether he was innocent.
The high court took the unusual step of directing the federal judge in charge of the case, US District Judge William Moore, to re-examine it after Davis and his lawyers presented evidence that the reliability of witness statements used by the prosecution was questionable.
Five Ways You Can Help Pakistan (and the Rest of Us)
As the world comes to terms with the mind-boggling scale of the tragedy in Pakistan, many Americans are asking what we can do to aid the flood victims.
Some may hesitate to contribute to flood relief because we associate Pakistan with qualities we don’t admire—nuclear proliferation, religious fundamentalism, the oppression of women, and a corrupt and powerful military. But the people of Pakistan are more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of these problems, and above all else, they are fellow human beings in dire need.
Flying the Flag; Faking the News
Edward Bernays, the American nephew of Sigmund Freud, is said to have invented modern propaganda. During the First World War, he was one of a group of influential liberals who mounted a secret government campaign to persuade reluctant Americans to send an army to the bloodbath in Europe. In his book, "Propaganda," published in 1928, Bernays wrote that the "intelligent manipulation of the organised habits and opinions of the masses was an important element in democratic society" and that the
Eugene Robinson | Our Quick-Fix Electorate
Washington - According to polls, Americans are in a mood to hold their breath until they turn blue. Voters appear to be so fed up with the Democrats that they're ready to toss them out in favor of the Republicans -- for whom, according to those same polls, the nation has even greater contempt. This isn't an "electoral wave," it's a temper tantrum.
Oil Slick Reported at Burning Platform in the Gulf
Update 8:24 am Eastern, Friday:
After initial reports of an oil sheen spreading from the site of the burning Mariner Energy oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, crews have been unable to find any further evidence of a leak, according to the Associated Press.
Update 4:48 pm Eastern:
Billion Dollar Audit Missed by Pentagon Watchdog
Washington - Military auditors failed to complete an audit of the business systems of an Ohio- based company - Mission Essential Personnel - even though it had billed for one billion dollars worth of work largely in Afghanistan over the last four years.
In September 2007 the U.S. Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) awarded Mission Essential Personnel (MEP) a five-year-contract worth up to 414 million dollars to provide 1,691 translators in Afghanistan. MEP was a start-up company created by three men, including Chad Monnin, a U.S. Army Special Forces reservist who was injured in a parachute accident.
Letter From Flint, Michigan
It began on December 30, 1936, at Fisher Body No. 1 in Flint, Michigan: workers occupied General Motors factories, launching one of the key struggles in U.S. labor history. A Women's Emergency Brigade brought them food; when the police tried to drive out the strikers with tear gas, the women broke the windows to give them fresh air. After 44 bitter winter days, the sit-down strike forced GM to recognize their union, the United Auto Workers.
It was no accident that Flint was the scene of this historic battle.
Democrats Unlikely to Repeal Tax Cuts for the Rich
Washington - Democrats in Congress are poised to play a leading role this month in thwarting their party's effort to raise income tax rates on the wealthy.
Tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 expire at the end of this year. President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have been eager to extend the breaks for individuals who earn less than $200,000 annually and joint filers who make less than
The Cry for Democratic Moral Leadership and Effective Communication
If you have not read Drew Westin's outstanding piece "What Created the Populist Explosion and How Democrats Can Avoid the Shrapnel in November" on The Huffington Post, AlterNet, and other venues, read it immediately. Westin states as eloquently and forcefully as anyone what he, I, and other progressives have been saying from the beginning of the Obama administration. I agree fully with everything he says. But ...
Westin's piece is incomplete in crucial ways. His piece can be read as saying that this election is about
Robert Reich | The Stock Market Rally Versus the World's Economic Fundamentals
What passes for business reporting in the United States is too often a series of breathless reports about the stock market. When the Dow rises precipitously, as it did today (Wednesday), the business press predicts an end to the Great Recession. When the stock market plummets, as it did last week, the Great Recession is said to be worsening.
E.J. Dionne Jr. | What's on Obama's Next Page?
Washington - By insisting Tuesday evening that "it's time to turn the page," President Obama was talking about more than the Iraq War, and doing much more than reviving one of his most effective slogans from the 2008 campaign.
He was also trying to turn the page on a period in which he has found himself on the defensive, his party in a perilous position for November's elections, and his reputation for political mastery in doubt.
Dean Baker | Seven Key Facts About Social Security and the Federal Budget
Washington, DC - Heading into the midterm elections, Social Security has proven to be one of the hot button issues of this cycle. Despite the fact that the program has just begun its 75th year contributing to the retirement security of millions, the relationship between Social Security and the federal budget is unclear to many Americans.
James Kwak | Just Because You Make a Lot of Money Doesn't Mean You Know What You're Talking About
Hedge fund managers may be good at investing money. (Or they may just be the beneficiaries of luck, like successful stock mutual fund managers.) But that doesn’t mean they can think clearly.
Andrew Ross Sorkin comments on the letter by fund manager Daniel Loeb, a former Democratic fundraiser, criticizing the supposed anti-business policies of the Obama administration. The letter includes blather like this:
Another False Ending: Contracting Out the Iraq Occupation
Another false ending to the Iraq war is being declared. Nearly seven years after George Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln, President Obama has just given a major address to mark the withdrawal of all but 50,000 combat troops from Iraq. But while thousands of US troops are marching out, thousands of additional private military contractors (PMCs) are marching in. The number of armed security contractors in Iraq will more than double in the coming months.
Feds File New Arizona Immigration Lawsuit, This Time to Protect Workers
The Justice Department alleges that an Arizona public college discriminated against immigrant job candidates. The case could pit states' rights against those of the federal government.
Los Angeles - Less than two months after the US Department of Justice sued Arizona over the state’s controversial immigration law, it has filed another lawsuit targeting immigration practices by Arizona authorities.
A Speech for Endless War
On the last night of August, the president used an Oval Office speech to boost a policy of perpetual war.
Hours later, The New York Times front page offered a credulous gloss for the end of "the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq." The first sentence of the coverage described the speech as saying, "that it is now time to turn to pressing problems at home." The story went on to assert that Obama "used the moment to emphasize that he sees his primary job as addressing the weak economy and other domestic issues
Alaska's Murkowski Concedes to Tea Party-Backed Miller
Anchorage - Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Tuesday night conceded the Republican primary election to Joe Miller, the tea party backed challenger who maintained his Election Day lead after thousands of additional absentee and other ballots were counted through the day.
Obama on Iraq: War's Over ... but Not Completely
After $748 billion and seven years President Obama declared the combat phase of the Iraq war over, and said a new phase, one in which US troops take on an advisory role rather than a leading one, has begun.
About 4,400 US soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed since the US invaded Iraq in March 2003.
What Obama Won't Say Tonight
President Barack Obama's aides say his speech this evening marking the end of "combat operations" in Iraq will avoid the vainglorious aspects of President George W. Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech in 2003. We'll see.
On the chance Obama might be open to pivoting away from the reduction of US troops in Iraq and addressing honestly the worsening quagmire in Afghanistan. I have offered him the following text:
My Fellow Americans,
