US politics

By Rory Fanning via Tomdispatch.com Last week, in a quiet indie bookstore on the north side of Chicago, I saw the latest issue of Rolling Stone resting on a chrome-colored plastic table a few feet from a barista brewing a vanilla latte. A cold October rain fell outside. A friend of mine grabbed the issue […]

Bush

For GOP who Question why Iraq didn’t Want US Forces to Stay: “Blackwater Guards Guilty In 2007 Iraq Massacre”

contributors

Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks: “Four former Blackwater security guards were convicted Wednesday in the 2007 shootings of more than 30 Iraqis in Baghdad, an incident that inflamed anti-American sentiment around the globe and was denounced by critics as an illustration of a war gone horribly wrong. The men claimed self-defense, but federal prosecutors argued […]

Militarization

You’ll be Surprised which Congressmen get Most Campaign Money from War Industry

contributors

AJ+ “War is a big industry in the United States, but who profits from it? AJ+ breaks down how much money was contributed by defense contractors to members of Congress in 2014 and exactly who got the bulk of that money.” These Congressmen Made A Lot Of Money From War – AJ+

Barack Obama

Double-Edged Sword: Can US overcome its Feelings of Exceptionalism?

contributors

By David Bromwich via Tomdispatch.com The origins of the phrase “American exceptionalism” are not especially obscure. The French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville, observing this country in the 1830s, said that Americans seemed exceptional in valuing practical attainments almost to the exclusion of the arts and sciences. The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, on hearing a report […]

Barack Obama

Iran Proposes Axis against ISIL to Iraqi PM Abadi as alternative to US Coalition

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole al-Zaman [The Times of Baghdad] reports that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has proposed to visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi an anti-ISIL axis including Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq that would be led by Iran, as an alternative to the US-led coalition proposed by President Barack Obama. In essence, this is the same […]

Bill of Rights

Edward Snowden and the Golden Age of Spying: Interview with Laura Poitras

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt and Laura Poitras via Tomdispatch.com Here’s a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! stat from our new age of national security. How many Americans have security clearances? The answer: 5.1 million, a figure that reflects the explosive growth of the national security state in the post-9/11 era. Imagine the kind of system needed […]

Bill of Rights

Is the Center for Jewish Life stifling free speech at Princeton University?

contributors

By Max Weiss via The Princetonian I have never met Slav Leibin. Nonetheless, it recently came to my attention that he vetoed, with the approval of the Center for Jewish Life, my right to participate in a proposed panel on the recent hostilities in Gaza. Apparently this preemptive act of exclusion was carried out on […]

Bill of Rights

Why do Politicians spend $9 billion a year to Jail the Mentally Ill?

contributors

Brave New Films “Instead of helping the mentally ill, police often put them behind bars. Watch how one police department is making a positive difference. It’s simple. Diversion programs work better than incarceration – for everyone. In cities like Seattle, San Antonio, and Salt Lake City, we see that successful solutions are a viable option […]

Bill of Rights

Islamophobia: Is Sam Harris As Dangerous As Sarah Palin? (The Young Turks)

contributors

The Young Turks: “”Whether you think him a truth-teller or a bigot, Bill Maher deserves credit for launching one of the most robust public cultural/intellectual debates in recent memory. Two weeks ago today, he said on HBO that “a vast number of Muslims across the world” believe people who do not share their religious beliefs […]