California's top court upholds same sex marriage ban
by Raw Story
California high court upholds gay marriage ban but allows existing same-sex marriages to standThe California Supreme Court has upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, but it also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed. |
Under the radar: US Democrats overseas pass marijuana resolution
by Stephen C. Webster
Obama’s position on decriminalization unclearThe Democratic Party Committee Abroad, otherwise known as Democrats Abroad, passed a resolution on April 25 recommending the legalization of marijuana in all 50 states.The news appears to have gone completely unnoticed by all mainstream outlets. |
The Plight of Women Soldiers
by Helen Benedict
Army specialist Mickiela Montoya was standing silently in the back of a Manhattan classroom while a group of male Iraq war veterans spoke to a small audience about their experiences as soldiers. It was November 2006, and she had been back from Iraq for a year, but was still too insecure to speak out in public. Anyway, the room was full of men, and Montoya had learned that a lot of men aren't much interested in listening to military women. |
The special 'Mentalist' issue of my housing co-op's newsletter
by Jane Stillwater
The other day a neighbor said to me, "Jane, your housing co-op looks like trash. What ever happened to all its plans for a re-hab?""Those plans have been killed," I replied.In the new TV series, "The Mentalist," Simon Baker plays a detective named Patrick Jane (no relation) who uses his acute mental powers to track down killers by using his incredible abilitiy to detect who is telling the truth and who is lying. Boy could my housing co-op use him now! |
Judge threatens to penalize Obama lawyers in state secrets, wiretap case
by John Byrne
A District court judge is threatening to "sanction" Obama Justice Department lawyers who've refused to respond to an order requiring the Department to provide a plan for how the case of a charity caught in a warrantless wiretap should proceed. Reports The Washington Post's Carrie Johnson: |
Powell's approval ratings more than Cheney, Limbaugh combined
by John Byrne
Former Vice President Dick Cheney and popular conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh's popularity is just half that of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, according to a CNN poll released Monday. Even among Republicans, Cheney's popularity is just two points over Powell's. |
‘God’s debt cancellation’ donations help evangelist strike it rich
by Muriel Kane
In a detailed investigation of South Carolina’s Inspiration Network, the Charlotte Observer reports that the network’s on-air promises that viewers can obtain prosperity and “God’s debt cancellation” by donating $200 or more have made its CEO David Cerullo a wealthy man and his cable network “one of the world’s fastest growing Christian broadcasters.” |
The 45th President
by David Swanson
The United States has had 44 presidents and nobody knows who the 45th will be. For the sake of argument let’s imagine for a minute something that is a very definite possibility. Let's imagine that the 45th president will belong to a political party you detest, will espouse the opposite position from yours on matters dear to your heart, and will strike you as completely unlikeable, untrustworthy, irresponsible, and dangerous. Let's imagine that #45 will want to do everything you oppose and will speak in the most odious and arrogant way about doing so. You won't like the substance or the rhetoric. Number 45, of course, will not fit that description for every one of us, but someone between number 45 and number 50 (assuming we make it that far) will almost certainly fit that description for you, and it's as likely to be #45 as any other number. |
Fixing America, Erasing Bush
by William Rivers Pitt
President Obama gave a speech on Thursday praising the excellence of the American experiment, and claimed his own life was made possible by the promise of the documents and the ideals that founded this nation. As usual, his delivery and diction was perfect. Unfortunately, his behavior of late has fallen far short of the ideals he has given such eloquent lip service to. |
The Last Social Insurance Dinosaur
by Allison Kilkenny
Now that President Obama's first 100 days are behind him, the altruism killers have stepped forth from the shadows again to remind us why Social Security must be dismantled.The Washington Post's Robert J. Samuelson recycles the greatest hits of this argument in his column today. "The recession had made everything worse...trust funds run dry; promised benefits exceed dedicated payroll taxes...retirees would scream. Hospitals might shut," Samuelson hysterically shouts from the page. |
Memorial Day Letter from a Vietnam Vet: 'People need to see what war really is, not the Hollywood version'
by Mike Whitney
Charlie Ehlen is a former Marine now living in Glenmora, LouisianaOriginally, Memorial Day was created to honor Union troops who had died during the "Civil War" but, eventually it was expanded to include all American troops killed in action. At first, it was called Decoration Day and was the traditional day for the running of the Indianapolis 500. Monday through Friday was Race Day. Now, we've changed all that so we get a long weekend and businesses can have special holiday sales and make a quick buck. Ain't America great? |
Colin Powell fires back at GOP critics
by DOUGLASS K. DANIEL
Moderate Republicans to conservative Republicans: Turn down the volume — especially on Rush Limbaugh — and open your minds. The party's future might be at stake.Such warnings about the GOP's right wing, along with finger wagging about a "shrill" and "judgmental" tone, marked the moderate response in the latest back-and-forth within the Republican Party. |
Our Crumbling Foundation
by Bob Herbert
I’m not sure that the catastrophic job losses of this recession, the worst since the Great Depression, have really sunk into the public’s consciousness. And that would mean that the ground has not been prepared for the kind of high-powered remedies needed to get the economy back into some kind of reasonable shape. |
Netanyahu: 'If Israel Doesn't Remove Iranian Threat, No One Will'
by Haaretz Staff
JERUSALEM - If Israel does not eliminate the Iranian threat, no one will, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday."Israel is not like other countries," Netanyahu told his Likud faction in a meeting which came one week after his meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House. "We are faced with security challenges that no other country faces, and our need to provide a response to these is critical, and we are answering the call." |
NY judge rises from projects to the Supreme Court
by Larry Neumeister
NEW YORK -- Sonia Sotomayor's path to the pinnacle of the legal profession began in the 1960s at a Bronx housing project just a couple blocks from Yankee Stadium, where she and her family dealt with one struggle after another.She suffered juvenile diabetes that forced her to start insulin injections at age 8. Her father died the next year, leaving her to be raised by her mother - a nurse at a methadone clinic who always kept a pot of rice and beans on the stove. The parents had immigrated from Puerto Rico. |
