Daily Articles

The Continuing Economic Crisis

by Tim Kelly June 20, 2012

President Obama has been rightfully criticized for his observation that “the private sector is doing fine.” The statement was a glaring indication that the president has no understanding of the country’s economic problems and therefore has no idea how to solve them.   The Romney campaign was quick to make use of the president’s gaffe, running ads accusing ...

Twelve Victims of the Drug War

by Laurence M. Vance June 18, 2012

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 37,792 people died from drug overdoses in 2010. That exceeds the number of Americans killed in car accidents (35,080). It was the second year in a row that drug deaths outnumbered traffic fatalities. The majority of those deaths were caused, not by heroin or cocaine, but by prescription opioid painkillers such ...

The Supreme Court Abandons the Guantánamo Prisoners

by Andy Worthington June 15, 2012

On Monday June 11, when the Supreme Court decided to turn down seven appeals submitted by prisoners held at Guantánamo without providing any explanation, a particularly low point was reached in the prison’s history. The decision came just one day before the fourth anniversary of Boumediene v. Bush, the hugely significant 2008 ruling recognizing the prisoners constitutionally guaranteed ...

Slow, Predictable Hearing on Fast and Furious

by Wendy McElroy June 14, 2012

The show trial of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on a citation of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena is scheduled to climax on June 20. That's when the investigating Oversight Committee has called for a vote on whether to move forward with a criminal contempt citation. Holder may be guilty, but the hearing is ...

Bloomberg’s Soda Policy: The End Doesn’t Justify the Means

by Sheldon Richman June 13, 2012

The debate incited by Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to outlaw supersized sodas in New York misses an important point. In the mayor’s words, “We’re not taking away anybody’s right to do things. We’re simply forcing you to understand that you have to make the conscious decision to go from one cup to another cup” (emphasis added). There it is. He wants ...

The Constitution versus the Executive-Branch Departments

by Laurence M. Vance June 12, 2012

The U.S. federal government contains a myriad of agencies, bureaus, corporations, commissions, administrations, authorities, and boards organized under 15 cabinet-level, executive-branch departments headed by a secretary (or, in the case of the Justice Department, an attorney general). Although Republicans created the latest, most bloated, and most hated department (Homeland Security), they sometimes talk about eliminating or consolidating various other ...

The Wisconsin Union Fight Reconsidered

by Sheldon Richman June 8, 2012

The failed gubernatorial recall effort in Wisconsin has generated a degree of political hostility that is extraordinary even by today’s standards. Many people interpret Gov. Scott Walker’s efforts to limit collective bargaining by government-employee unions as a general attack on workers and their right to organize. That may be the case, but it’s not the only interpretation available. According to ...

“Pragmatism over Ideology”: Obama’s Failure to Close Guantánamo, and His Love of Drones

by Andy Worthington June 8, 2012

On May 29, a major article in the New York Times painted a grim portrait of how Barack Obama has taken over from George W. Bush as the “commander in chief” of a “war on terror” that seems to have no end, and that not only appears to be counterproductive but also, at heart, illegal. Understandably, critics have ...

Do Republicans Oppose the Redistribution of Wealth?

by Laurence M. Vance June 5, 2012

The Law of the Sea Treaty, formally known as the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (and informally known as LOST), was adopted in 1982 to establish a comprehensive set of rules governing the oceans and replace two previous UN conventions on the Law of the Sea. It came into force in November 1994, a ...

Obama Steps into It on the Family Farm

by Wendy McElroy June 4, 2012

The upcoming presidential election may well have saved the American family farm — at least, temporarily. The votes in several agricultural swing states are up for grabs, and so the Obama administration has declared a strategic cease-fire in its assault upon small agriculture. A family farm is commonly defined as “a farm owned and operated by a family, ...

U.S. Should Steer Clear of Syria

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 2012

We should be grateful that the Obama administration seems disinclined to intervene militarily in Syria. But let’s note that the administration has not kept hands off. In a variety of ways, it is already aiding the rebels. Moreover, White House spokesman Jay Carney says that all options — even military intervention — are on the table. Americans should ...

The Myths of NATO

by Tim Kelly May 30, 2012

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was cast into the national spotlight last week when the 63-year-old alliance held its 25th summit in Chicago. While the thousands of anti-NATO protesters and the government’s heavy-handed security measures attracted most of the media’s attention, important questions regarding the Cold War–era organization went largely ignored. According to Cold War orthodoxy, the United States ...